Mozambique aim for maiden regional Under-17 title
The TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2026 | COSAFA Qualifiers will be staged in Harare, Zimbabwe from September 11-20 with 12 teams hoping to reach the continental finals that are to be held next year.
It will be fascinating to see which sides emerge to not only take the crown, but also advance with the chance of becoming African champions.
The ninth part of our team profiles looks at Mozambique, who have yet to lift the trophy despite coming close twice before.
MOZAMBIQUE
Last five tournament finishes:
2019 – Runners-Up
2020 – Did not enter
2021 – Did not enter
2022 – Group Stages
2024 – Group Stages
Mozambique have been sporadic participants in the COSAFA Under-17 Championships down the years but were runners-up six years ago, one of two times they have claimed the silver medal.
They have yet to be crowned champions but were runners-up in the very first competition played 1994 when they topped their pool with wins over Botswana and Lesotho, both by 1-0 scorelines, and played to a 2-2 draw with Zimbabwe.
The team beat Zambia 2-1 in the semifinals, but then lost by the same scoreline to South Africa in the decider.
The team was disqualified from the 2001 tournament after fielding ineligible players, and did not return until 2017.
In 2019 they went very close to lifting the trophy as they beat old foes Angola 1-0, drew 0-0 with Comoros and then defeated Lesotho 4-1 to top their pool and book a semifinal slot.
They met Eswatini in the last-4 and a 1-0 victory there set up a final against Zambia, where they finally came unstuck, losing 2-0.
They played in the 2024 competition where they took four points from their three matches, but did not advance past the group stages.
Mozambique have twice before qualified for the African Under-17 Championships but exited in the group stages on both occasions in 1995 and 2001.
