GALLANT U-20S EXIT COSAFA CUP

MBABANE – So near yet so far.

This is how the journey of Eswatini Under-20s can be described after crashing out of the COSAFA Cup tournament. Rivals Angola’s 8-1 annihilation of Seychelles in one of the last group matches at Mavuso Sports Centre yesterday meant their semifinals dream was up in smoke. By virtue of Angola winning with an avalanche of goals, they became the best runners-up after beating Eswatini with a goal difference of 11 to 6. For Eswatini to qualify as best second runners-up, they should have won with 13-0 to Mauritius. Unfortunately, they hammered the islanders 7-0.

Eswatini and Angola both have six points and were second-placed in their respective groups. Eswatini were in group A with Zambia, Botswana and Mauritius. Zambia eventually qualified to the semifinal after amassing nine points, while Angola became second in Group B with six points. Mozambique qualified to the last four in group B. In group C, South Africa booked their semifinal spot after beating Comoros 4-0 to leapfrog the latter from the pole position. Initially Comoros were leading Group C with six points but the defeat to the South Africans saw them moving down to the third spot after Malawi won 5-2 to Namibia. This means Eswatini is out of the competition and will have to watch from the stands as the tournament continues.

Eswatini had started their campaign on a high night after beating Botswana 2-1 in their opening encounter and hopes of qualifying were dashed when they lost 2-0 to Zambia. There were hopes of a best second place finisher after their 7-0 victory against Mauritius. It is the same old story, as Eswatini has failed to go past the first hurdle in the last 20 years.

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