Mozambique finally claimed their maiden COSAFA Under-20 title when they won the 2020 edition in Nelson Mandela Bay, having previously suffered disappointment as beaten finalists in 2008.
They reached the decider again two years ago in Eswatini, but this time lost out to Zambia when they went 1-0 down in the final. That is gold and silver in the last two editions and they will be desperate to be back on top of the podium in front of their own fans.
They finished at the summit of their pool in 2020, beating Lesotho (1-0) and Zimbabwe (2-0), before a 0-0 draw with South Africa sealed the number one position.
It was the same result in the semifinals against powerhouse Zambia, but the Young Mambas triumphed 5-4 on penalties.
It set up a decider against Namibia and Mozambique triumphed 1-0 thanks to a now famous goal from Augusto, which sealed their first ever trophy at any level in COSAFA.
They will now hope to do it all again and qualify for the TotalEnergies CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations next year, which in turn is a qualifier for the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile.
In order to do that, they must reach the final in Maputo but have a tough pool that also includes Zimbabwe, Botswana and Eswatini.
Mozambique lost to hosts South Africa in the final in 2008, but that is now but a distant memory for the side after their triumph four years ago.
They did narrowly miss out on the semifinals in Botswana in 2011, the hosts just pipping them on goal-difference in a three-team pool that also included Eswatini.
And in 2016 they finished their three-team pool with two draws and so lost out to Central African guest nation DR Congo for a place in the knockout stages.
In 2017 they returned home early with a single win and two defeats, though they were in a tough pool with eventual champions South Africa and North African guest nation Egypt.
They were unbeaten in 2018 with a victory over DR Congo, and draws with Malawi and Zambia, but there five points were not enough to put them into the next round.
They managed a single win over Seychelles (3-2) in 2019, to go with losses to Eswatini (2-0) and Angola (1-0).
Mozambique reached the quarterfinals of the African Under-20 Championship in 1989 but went out in the group stages in 2021 and 2023.
MOZAMBIQUE FINISHES IN LAST 25 YEARS
1999 – Group stages
2000 – Quarterfinals
2001 – Quarterfinals
2002 – Quarterfinals
2003 – Group stages
2004 – Group stages
2005 – Group stages
2006 – Group stages
2007 – Group stages
2008 – Runners-up
2009 – Group stages
2010 – Group stages
2011 – Group stages
2013 – Group stages
2016 – Group stages
2017 – Group stages
2018 – Group stages
2019 – Group stages
2020 – Winners
2022 – Runners-up
