Ninety minutes from Ghana: Junior Chipolopolo meet holders South Africa with an AFCON ticket on the line

It is the fixture Southern African youth football keeps producing, and it has never carried more weight: Zambia against South Africa at ABB Stadium in Maputo at 16:00 CAT on Friday, with a place in the COSAFA U20 final — and a ticket to the U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana — going to the winner.

Zambia arrive as Group C winners from a perfect group campaign, with Billy Daka among the goals. South Africa, the defending champions in both 2024 and 2025, topped Group B with nine points, seven goals scored and none conceded, closing the group with a 2-0 win over Eswatini through Manelis Mazibuko and Milimo Nalumango.

Amajita coach Raymond Mdaka rotated heavily for that match and made no apology for it, telling SAFA's channels that junior tournaments are for testing depth — while conceding his side "should have scored a number of goals" with the chances created. Of the semi-final he was plainer: "I hope it's going to be a very good game. This is the decider for qualifying, and it needs full focus and commitment of the players."

The pedigree is evenly matched: Zambia have won this title twelve times, South Africa ten, and Amajita beat the Junior Chipolopolo in the 2024 final. The winner meets Namibia or hosts Mozambique, who contest Friday's late semi at 19:00 after Mozambique edged Angola to the last berth on fair-play points. Both semis are live on the COSAFA YouTube channel; the final is on Sunday.

Sources: SAFA, "Amajita defeat Eswatini, set up Zambia semi-final clash" (23 Sep 2026); CAF Online (22 Sep 2026); COSAFA; SuperSchools (24 Sep 2026); Lusaka Brief archive.