South Africa secure Cosafa Under-20 semi-final place with Angola win

South Africa reached the semi-finals of the 2026 Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championship after beating Angola 2-0 in Maputo on Monday.

The result saw Amajita overcome their main Group B competition and move on to six points from two matches. Their final group fixture is against Eswatini on Wednesday.

The Cosafa Under-20 tournament also serves as the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Cosafa Qualifier. The finalists will qualify for next year’s continental tournament in Ghana.

South Africa took control of the match when captain Lazola Maku opened the scoring in the 14th minute. Maku is currently without a club after deciding not to renew his contract with Siwelele FC at the end of the 2025-26 season, and has recently had trials with clubs in Austria.

Steven Mendes doubled the advantage four minutes before half-time, rising to head home in the 41st minute.

The goal was the Kaizer Chiefs midfielder’s third of the tournament in two matches. Mendes scored twice in Amajita’s opening 3-0 victory over Lesotho.

South Africa were forced to withstand pressure after the interval but successfully protected their clean sheet to complete an important victory.

Angola had begun their campaign with a 4-0 win against Eswatini.