Goals have been a feature of recent COSAFA Under-20 Championships
The TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations | COSAFA Qualifier has long been a stage on which the region’s young attacking talent announces itself.
Ahead of the 2026 edition that will be staged in Mozambique from September 18-27, we look through the record books at some of the most striking numbers from recent years when it comes to scoring goals.
81 – GOALS GALORE IN 2019
Few recent editions can match the extraordinary entertainment served up in Zambia in 2019. There were 81 goals in just 22 matches, an average of 3.68 per game, as hosts Zambia eventually defeated South Africa 3-0 in the final.
Angola were a major reason for that huge tally. They scored 13 times in their three group matches and finished the competition with 18 goals, despite not reaching the final.
The Young Palancas Negras signed off with a 5-1 victory over Madagascar in the bronze-medal match.
The next COSAFA U-20 qualifier in 2020 was a very different affair, with 40 goals in 19 matches, showing how things can change from year-to-year.
73 – ANOTHER BUMPER EDITION IN 2022
The 2022 tournament in Eswatini produced 73 goals from 22 matches, an average of 3.32 per fixture.
That competition included some spectacular scorelines, with hosts Eswatini beating Mauritius 7-0 and Angola recording an 8-1 victory against Seychelles.
It was also a tournament in which the eventual champions showed that there is more than one way to win. Zambia took the trophy despite conceding only once in their five matches, defeating Mozambique 1-0 in the final.
55 – THE GOALS KEPT COMING IN 2024
The 2024 qualifier produced 55 goals in 18 fixtures, maintaining an impressive average of 3.06 per game.
There was plenty of drama too, not least Eswatini’s extraordinary 5-4 victory over hosts Mozambique, one of the highest-scoring matches in the history of the regional competition.
Champions South Africa contributed 16 of the tournament’s 55 goals on their own – an average of 3.2 per match – while incredibly not conceding once in five games.
8 – THE BIGGEST WINNING MARGIN
There have been some sizeable victories through the years, with an eight-goal winning margin achieved twice in the modern era.
South Africa defeated Lesotho 8-0 in 2016, while Angola matched that scoreline against Seychelles three years later.
There have since been several seven-goal margins – South Africa 7-0 Lesotho in 2020, Eswatini 7-0 Mauritius in 2022 and Angola 8-1 Seychelles at the same tournament.
18 – ANGOLA LIGHT UP 2019
Angola may have finished third in 2019, but nobody scored more goals. They netted 18 times in five matches, including eight against Seychelles and five against Madagascar in the third-place play-off.
They had already scored 13 goals in three pool matches before eventually losing to Zambia in the semifinals.
It was a tournament that underlined Angola’s reputation as one of Southern Africa’s most exciting producers of young attacking talent.
