Zambia chase record-extending 13th COSAFA Under-20 crown
Zambia will be hoping to extend their record number of COSAFA titles at Under-20 level to 13 when they compete in the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations | COSAFA Qualifier in Mozambique from September 18-27.
They have been remarkably consistent at this level. In the 11 tournaments they have played since 2010, they have won five titles, finished runners-up once and third once, with two fourth-place finishes and two exits in the pool stages.
This time around they have been drawn in a pool with old foes Malawi, Comoros and Botswana. Only the top team in each group advances to the semi-finals, along with the best runner-up across the three pools.
The two finalists in the competition will qualify for the continental finals next year.
Zambia finished third in 2025 after losing to Malawi in the semi-finals, having reached that stage as the best runner-up from the pool phase. They edged Angola on penalties in the bronze-medal match.
It was a similar story the year before as they qualified for the semi-finals as the best runner-up, having lost to Angola in the pool stages, and then beat Zimbabwe on penalties following a 2-2 draw in the last four.
But they came unstuck against South Africa in the decider, losing 2-0 to the side who would go on to be crowned African champions.
Their road to the title in 2022 included group-stage wins over Mauritius (3-0), Eswatini (2-0) and Botswana (1-0), before they edged Angola on penalties in the semi-finals and beat then-holders Mozambique 1-0 in the decider.
Prior to 2022, their previous victory came in 2019. It was a commanding performance from the side as they claimed a full haul of nine points in the pool stages before seeing off Angola 3-0 in the semi-finals.
That was followed by victory against old foes South Africa by the same comprehensive margin in the decider.
Zambia were also rampant in 2016 as they stormed through that competition and inflicted a 2-1 defeat on hosts South Africa in the decider.
They went on to claim the 2017 Africa Under-20 Championship title on home soil and also excelled at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in South Korea.
But the side disappointed in the COSAFA Men’s Under-20 Championship that year, bowing out in the first round after a defeat to East African guest nation Uganda was followed by a draw with Malawi and a win over Eswatini.
They did make the semi-finals in 2018 but lost 2-1 to Zimbabwe and were then beaten 2-1 by Angola in the bronze-medal match.
They reached the semi-finals again in 2020, a competition played in South Africa, winning all three pool matches against Namibia (1-0), Comoros (2-0) and Malawi (2-0).
They came unstuck in the semi-finals, though, when they were held 0-0 by Mozambique before losing 5-4 on penalties. They were then beaten 2-1 by Angola in the bronze-medal match.
Zambia have also been fairly regular visitors to the Africa Under-20 Championship and have appeared at the continental tournament on 11 previous occasions. Apart from their gold medal in 2017, they also finished fourth in 1991, 1999 and 2007.
ZAMBIA COSAFA UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP FINISHES SINCE 1999
1999 – Winners
2000 – Quarter-finals
2001 – Third
2002 – Fourth
2003 – Winners
2004 – Runners-up
2005 – Third
2006 – Runners-up
2007 – Group stages
2008 – Group stages
2009 – Runners-up
2010 – Winners
2011 – Winners
2013 – Group stages
2016 – Winners
2017 – Group stages
2018 – Fourth
2019 – Winners
2020 – Fourth
2022 – Winners
2024 – Runners-up
2025 – Third
