Mozambique coach Dario Monteiro has named a preliminary squad of 27 players for the COSAFA Men’s Under-20 Championships that will be staged in Lusaka, Zambia from December 4-14.

Monteiro, who will be assisted by Luis Fumo, has looked largely to the Associação Black Bull club with 10 players from that team on the list.

The youngest player on the list is 16-year-old forward Simone Pita Cipriano, with most players born in either 2000 or 2001.
Mozambique have been drawn in Group C at the tournament and open their campaign against Eswatini on December 5.

They will meet Angola two days later in a crunch battle, before closing out their pool play against Seychelles on December 9.

Mozambique are still searching for their first-ever COSAFA Under-20 Championships title having been beaten finalists in 2008.

They lost to then hosts South Africa on that occasion but will be hoping to go one better this time round after disappointingly losing out in the first round of the event in the last seven installments.

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 Swaziland.

And in 2016 they finished their three-team pool with two draws and so lost out to 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.

And last year they were unbeaten after a win over Central African guest nation DR Congo was followed by draws against Malawi and Zambia, which both ended 1-1.

Mozambique preliminary squad:

Goalkeepers: Simone Emilio Lipanga, Teixeira Francisco Nhanombe, Issufo Saide Gonçalves

Defenders: Gonçalves Alexandre Junior, Franque Oscar Mahumane, Belarmino José Manhice, Jeremias Salda Nhambire, Ronaldo Jorge Chivambo, Gonçalves Rodrigues, Armando Daniel Mapangane, Ernesto Americo Zimba

Midfielders: René Tembe, Michel de Retelano Maposse, Asten Luis Surage, Emílio Inocencio Salgueiro, António Daniel Bambo, Tomás Tomo Mahumane, José Regina Joaquim Domingos, Dercio Meque Augusto, Celton Jenito Jamisse

Strikers: Orlando Tembe, Muhammad Zidane Sidat, Benedito Walter Manjate, Romão João, Simone Pita Cipriano, Hélio Feniasse Preizes, Gulamo Mustafa Salimo