Malawi Under-17 Football Team reached the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Championship semi-finals after beating Namibia 2-1 yesterday at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe

The victory follows a 2-2 draw against Botswana on Friday during their Group A opening match.

Malawi’s Mwisho Mhango (L) battles for the ball with a Namibian player

It was a hard fought win as the hosts came from behind to equalise in the 37th minute and scored the winning goal in the 83rd minute.

Namibia scored in the 27th minute through Dorian Nanuseb, but 10 minutes, later, Blessings Kawanga levelled for the hosts. However the Malawi Under-17 waited for another 52 minutes to find the winner through Webster Mzunga.

The victory was a relief to Msakakuona and Malawi as the team has reached the knock-out stage after accumulating four points.

“It took us time to get settled because we were not familiar with their type of football. They had an opportunity to watch our game against Botswana and that gave then advantage in the midfield. But gradually we settled and started playing good football,” he said.

Msakakuona said his charges could have done better had they utilised their chances..

“We could not score from set-pieces and wasted numerous chances from good positions. That was a great let down again,” he said.

The Region Five Under-17 Games are being used as qualifiers for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). The two finalists will automatically qualify for the 2023 Afcon.

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