The semifinal line-up is complete at the COSAFA Beach Soccer Championships after the final round of pool matches were staged at Durban’s South Beach Arena on Wednesday.
North African guest nation Morocco, who are the top ranked side in the competition, will take on 2015 finalists Malawi in the first semifinal at 14h00 CAT on Friday.
The second semi will see Middle East guest nation Saudi Arabia, the first non-African team to compete at a COSAFA event, meet 2021 winners Mozambique at 15h30 CAT.
The quartet won their places in the knockout rounds after another thrilling day of action on the sand which took the total number of goals scored in the 12 matches in the competition to 75.
Saudi Arabia sealed top spot in Group A with a 3-1 victory over hosts South Africa in their final pool match. They end with six points, the same number as Malawi, but are ahead of them by virtue of winning their clash 5-1 on Monday.
Ramzi Dakman scored twice for the Saudis to take his tally in the competition to six and place him at the top of the scorers list. Mubarak Alduoasri got his second of the tournament too.
South Africa were second best in the contest and could not find the form that saw them beat Seychelles last time out. Their lone goal came from Sphephelo Cele as they bow out in the pool stages.
Malawi were handsome 7-2 winners over 2025 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup hosts Seychelles to take second place in the group.
Isaac Kajam scored a brace of goals to take his tally to four in the competition, while there were further strikes from Dala Dala, Arnold Lasten, Thoko Kamanga, Sandram Ussi and Martin Biliati.
Seychelles scored two consolation goals through Ryan Servina but do leave the tournament with a win under their belt after they beat Saudi Arabia on the opening day.
Mozambique earned their semifinal spot with an epic 8-4 over fellow Lusophone side Angola.
Antonio Namape Jnr and Paolo Novela both scored a brace, as they netted further goals from Rachide Simithe, Julio Manjate, Angelo Tomas and Ramossete Cumbe.
Angola were always behind in the game and despite goals from Omar de Fonseca, Paolo Nascimento, Eurípedes Francisco and Mateus António, went down to a heavy defeat.
Morocco were the last side to book their qualification for the knockout rounds with a tense 2-1 victory over Tanzania.
Amine El Bidouri netted a brace of goals for Morocco while the prolific Jaruph Juma was on target for Tanzania, taking his tally of COSAFA Beach Soccer Championship goals to 11 over three editions.
After a rest day on Thursday, the teams will do it all again on Friday with the semifinals, and you can check all the fixtures here.
And the best news for those that want to take in the action live is that tickets are FREE! These can be collected on a first come, first served basis from the entrance to the South Beach Arena.
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WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS
Group A
Seychelles 2 (Servina 2) Malawi 7 (Kajam 2, Dala, Lasten, Kamanga, Ussi, Biliati)
South Africa 1 (Cele) Saudi Arabia 3 (Aldouasri, Dakman 2)
Group B
Angola 4 (De Fonseca, Nascimento, Fransisco, Antonio) Mozambique 8 (Simithe, Namape Jnr 2, Manjate, Novela 2, Tomas, Cumbe)
Morocco 2 (El Bidouri 2) Tanzania 1 (Juma)
FRIDAY’S FIXTURES
Semifinals
Morocco vs Malawi (KO 14h00; 12h00 GMT)
Saudi Arabia vs Mozambique (KO 15h30; 13h30 GMT)
GROUP STANDINGS
| GROUP A | P | W | W+ | WP | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Saudi Arabia (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| Malawi (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| South Africa | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 3 |
| Seychelles | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 3 |
| GROUP B | P | W | W+ | WP | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Morocco (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| Mozambique (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 6 |
| Angola | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 5 |
| Tanzania | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 0 |
Key: P = Played; W = Won; W+ = Won in extra-time; WP = Won on penalties; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against; PTS = Points
Points Allocation: Three points for a win; two points for a win in extra-time; one point for a win via penalty kicks
TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches Played: 12
Goals scored: 75
Biggest victory: Seychelles 2 Malawi 7 (Group A, March 20)
Most goals in a game: 12 – Angola 4 Mozambique 8 (Group B, March 20)
GOALSCORERS
6 goals – Ramzi Dakman (Saudi Arabia)
5 – Antonio Namape Jnr (Mozambique)
4 – Jaruph Juma (Tanzania), Isaac Kajam (Malawi)
3 – Driss Ghannam (Morocco), Paolo Nascimento (Angola), Ayoub Zahraoui (Morocco)
2 – Mubarak Alduoasri (Saudi Arabia), Abdulrahim Bausi (Tanzania), Dala Dala (Malawi), Omar de Fonseca (Angola),Amine El Bidouri (Morocco), Stephen Lajoie (Seychelles), Paolo Novela (Mozambique), Ryan Servina (Seychelles), Rachide Simithe (Mozambique), Joao Tchitungo (Angola), Angelo Tomas (Mozambique), Sandram Ussi (Malawi)
1 – Ali Alhamami (Saudi Arabia), Terrence Amade (Seychelles), Mateus António (Angola), Medrick Baptiste (Seychelles), Martin Biliati (Malawi), Sphephelo Cele (South Africa), Ramossete Cumbe (Mozambique), Wilson Francisci (Angola), Badr El Kraichly (Morocco), Eurípedes Francisco (Angola), Goodluck Gama (Tanzania), Abongile Gcuda (South Africa), Phiwokuhle Gumede (South Africa), Eddie Jamu (Malawi), Thoko Kamanga (Malawi), Arnold Lasten (Malawi), Helder Mahumane (Mozambique), Yuran Malate (Mozambique), Julio Manjate (Mozambique), Ntuthuko Mbutho (South Africa), Siyabonga Mkhize (South Africa), Martin Williams (Seychelles)
Own goals – Sandram Ussi (Malawi)
Le dernier carré constitué
Rideau sur la phase de groupe de la COSAFA beach soccer Championship. Cette ultime journée du premier tour a permis à l’Arabie Saoudite et au Malawi d’enregistrer une deuxième victoire dans le groupe A, synonyme de qualification pour le prochain tour. Dans l’autre groupe, le Maroc et le Mozambique seront également présents pour la demi-finale. Justement, le Maroc sera opposé au Malawi tandis que l’Arabie Saoudite affrontera le Mozambique vendredi.
Les Seychelles avaient idéalement débuté le tournoi mais se sont ensuite effondrés. Les Pirates ont enregistré une deuxième défaite de rang mercredi au terme de la troisième et ultime match de groupe. Ils sont tombés devant le Malawi. Les Flames se sont imposés 7-2 grâce notamment à un doublé de Kajam. En face, Servina a également marqué à deux reprises mais cela n’a servi à rien. C’est d’ailleurs Kajam qui a été élu meilleur joueur de la rencontre.
Dans le derby lusophone, il fallait être très attentif au South Beach Arena. L’Angola et le Mozambique ne se sont faits aucun cadeau au cours de leur explication. C’est finalement les Mozambicains qui ont été les plus réalistes au cours de ce derby régional en l’emportant 8-4. Namape et Novela ont chacun inscrit un doublé pendant ce match. Sefo, Manjate, Tomas et Cumbe ont également apporté leur pierre à l’édifice pendant cette joute. Les Angolais – qui avaient bien débuté ce match, ont pu compter sur les réalisations de Fonseca, Amaral, Fransisco et Antonio mais leur but n’a pas suffi.
L’Arabie Saoudite marche au diesel. C’est le parfait description des invités de la compétition qui ont dans un premier temps perdu leur match inaugurale avant d’enchainer deux victoires probantes. Mercredi, les Saoudiens ont dominé l’Afrique du Sud dans une rencontre qui aura été spectaculaire du début jusqu’à la fin. Au cours de cette explication, Dakman a inscrit un doublé. Aldouasri a terminé le travail en offrant un troisième but. En face, le but de Cele n’aura été qu’anecdotique. Khalid Mudhaya a été le meilleur sur le sable au cours de cette joute.
Dans le dernier match de la journée, la Tanzanie s’est battu comme un acharné pour espérer ne pas rentrer bredouille. Mais les Tanzaniens ont une nouvelle fois buté sur plus fort qu’eux. Ils ont été battus sur un score serré par le Maroc (2-1). Les deux buts de Bidouri côté Marocain a été amplement suffisant pour permettre aux visiteurs de passer au prochain tour. Jaruph a été trop esseulé pour espérer aider la Tanzanie.
Conhecidos semifinalistas do COSAFA-2024
Já são conhecidos os semifinalistas que este ano irão disputar a III edição da Taça COSAFA de Futebol de Praia, que decorre na cidade balnear de Durban, África do Sul, desde o passado dia 17 de Março devendo terminar no dia 24 do mesmo mês.
Por sua vez, a Selecção moçambicana defrontará, nesta sexta-feira, a sua congénere do Malawi, primeiro classificado do Grupo A, às 14h00, no South Beach Arena e, no mesmo local, Marrocos, melhor classificado na série B, terá pela frente a convidada Arábia Saudita quando forem 14h30.
Por conseguinte, Moçambique conseguiu uma vitória avassaladora sobre Angola (4-8), na derradeira jornada da fase de grupos, neste que foi o primeiro embate lusófono, no que a esta esta modalidade diz respeito.
Os angolanos que saíram a vencer no primeiro período (2-1), transmitiram a impressão de ter o jogo sob controlo, o que não passou de mera ilusão de óptica, pois, à entrada para o segundo período, os moçambicanos deram a volta ao resultado e marcaram quatro golos e sofreram um. Já na etapa final, ou seja, no terceiro período, os comandados de Saedate Moveia, técnico da turma moçambicano transfiguraram-se e dilataram o “score” anotando três golos e consentiram um.
António Namape Jr. “Figo”, uma vez mais, eleito melhor em campo, foi autor de dois golos a par dos seus colegas Paulo Novela e Rachide, enquanto que Fonseca, Amaral, Francisco e António marcaram para o lado angolano.
Se por um lado os angolanos pretendiam melhorar o terceiro lugar, conseguido na primeira edição, em 2021, Moçambique deixou ficar clara a intenção de querer resgatar o estatuto de campeão conquistado nesse mesmo ano.
Na verdade Moçambique cumpriu na plenitude com o objectivo primário: vencer Angola no tempo regulamentar e somar os seis pontos, ou seja, estes não precisaram de vencer no prolongamento, o que significaria o total de cinco pontos sem ter que estar refém de terceiros para garantir uma qualificação directa.
Anotar que uma vitória no prolongamento vale dois pontos e uma vitória absoluta vale três pontos, enquanto um triunfo nos penaltes equivale a um ponto, tal como determina o regulamento, considerando que não há empates no futebol de praia.
Entretanto, os malauianos golearam às Seychelles por 7-2, enquanto que Marrocos teve que sofrer para afastar a Tanazania por 2-1. Aliás, a derrota dos marroquinos significaria a passagem de Angola para a fase seguinte, facto que não aconteceu.
De acordo com o regulamento da competição, as duas primeiras classificadas de cada um dos dois grupos de quatro equipas cada avançam para as meias-finais.
