WP and the Blue Bulls contested the final match of the tournament, and the clash between the north-south rivals certainly lived up to the hype.

The Cape side crossed the tryline five times, while Bulls winger Yuvrah George scored a hat-trick, extending his overall tally for the week to six. In the end, WP emerged with a 31-22 victory to finish the tournament unbeaten.

Earlier in the day, the Free State XV raced to a 31-20 victory over the Griffons to maintain their winning streak. WP as well as the Free State XV scored 13 tries over the course of the three-match campaign.

The Golden Lions, however, ended the week with the most overall points (101) and joint-most tries (14). These stats were significantly boosted by their 10-try, 66-point performance against Border on day three. Centre Jaydon Viljoen finished the week with a tournament-leading 46 points.

In other matches, the Valke were similarly dominant in their match against Border Country Districts, scoring 10 tries in a 60-15 win.

The Sharks fought back from a seven-point half-time deficit to edge a competitive South Western Districts side 20-19. Centre Ciaran Killian scored a hat-trick in Eastern Province’s 36-33 win over the WP XV to ensure that the hosts ended their campaign on a high.

U16 Grant Khomo Week Results – Day Three:

Lions 66 (33), Border 24 (10)

Pumas 13 (3), Leopards 20 (10)

Namibia 31 (19), v Zimbabwe 8 (3)

Free State 33 (21), Boland 16 (3)

Free State XV 31 (12). v Griffons 20 (10)

Border CD 15 (3), Valke 60 (33)

Sharks 20 (5), SWD 19 (12)

WP XV 33 (18), EP 36 (21)

Griquas 50 (7), Limpopo Blue Bulls 12 (12)

WP 31 (19), Bulls 22 (15)

Photo by SA Rugby website

Issued by SA Rugby Communications

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The COSAFA Cup tournament marked the ninth consecutive year that the 12 countries were drawn to compete against each other. Notably, Botswana had never won an outright match in their previous 12 encounters.

The other sides in what is set to be a fiercely contested Group A are Mozambique and Eswatini.

Seven-time champions in record In addition to trying to become the first team to win the COSAFA Cup three times in a row, Zambia’s Group B matches against Comoros and Zimbabwe should be exciting. We’ll confirm the fourth team in that pool as soon as possible.

Group C comprises three-time winners Angola, 2015 champions Namibia, and Seychelles, as well as last year’s runners-up, Lesotho.

The pool games are scheduled for June 26–July 3. The semifinals and final, together with the third-place play-off, will take place on July 5 and July 6, respectively.

Throughout the competition, the structure guarantees that every nation will play a minimum of three games and a maximum of five. It also improves player wellbeing by allowing for an additional day of relaxation in between most pool games.

Though several amazing games and performances from the 22 previous COSAFA Cup editions have been ingrained in Southern African football tradition, only five countries can lay claim to have won the prized trophy.

Zambia won seven titles in a row in 2023, which puts them at the top of the list. That is one more than Zimbabwe; the only other teams to win regional titles were South Africa (five), Angola (three), and Namibia (one).

Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, and Malawi have all advanced to the final twice but lost both times. Senegal, who had been invited twice, was the only other country to make it to the final but lost to South Africa in 2021.

THE 2024 COSAFA CUP DRAW IN FULL:

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Both Senegal and Tunisia were among five African representatives at the last World Cup finals in Qatar and are fancied to qualify again for the 2026 tournament.

Habib Diallo netted in the 27th minute — heading home along cross from Pape Matar Sarr — to see Senegal to the top of Group B with victory in Nouakchott, despite missing Sadio Mane and Nicolas Jackson through injury.

But there was a lengthy delay in completing the match after frustrated home fans threw objects towards the pitch in the second half and proceedings were halted.

Senegal are one point above Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the group standings.

The Congolese beat Togo 1-0 in Kinshasa with Meshack Elia’s sixth minute goal proving decisive.

Tunisia had been upset by Namibia at January’s Africa Cup of Nations finals and came close to losing again in the match played in Soweto, South Africa because Namibia do not have a suitable home venue.

Namibia did have the ball in the net after 14 minutes when Deon Hotto’s free kick was spilt by Tunisia goalkeeper Bechir Said and bundled in by centre back Charles Hambira.

But the Mauritanian referee Dahane Beida adjudged that the goalkeeper had been fouled after he spilt the ball, although television replays suggested there was minimal contact.

Tunisia have a three point lead in Group H over Namibia with Liberia a further point back in third place.

Liberia needed a last minute winner from Sheikh Sesay to edge 1-0 past Sao Tome e Principe in their match in Oudja, Morocco. Sao Tome have lost all four of their qualifiers in Group H.

Djibouti gained their first point in Group A in a 1-1 draw with neighbours Ethiopia.

Monday will see a further eight qualifiers played around Africa. There are nine groups in the African preliminaries with the group winner advancing to the 2026 finals in North America. The four best runners-up will have a chance to advance through two series of playoff tournaments.

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The Orlando Pirates forward played a starring role in helping Namibia qualify for the knockout stages after being named Man of the Match in their final group game against Mali.

As a result, Namibia qualified for the last 16 after finishing third in Group E with four points from three games, having won one, drew one and conceded one defeat.

Hotto admits that it was tough walking away with a point against a very difficult Mali outfit.

“It wasn’t easy. We fought until the last minute, until the final whistle. This qualification means a lot for Namibia,” Hotto told CAFOnline.

“When we arrived at the match, we already knew we had a point and we were qualified.

“But we tried to have a low block and take advantage of a few transitions. The Mali team is very strong, especially on these sides, so we clearly played low. We contained them but we also had chances.

“It was our day. As the match went on, you could see that nothing could happen to us.”

Photo by Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

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As one of the four best third-place teams, the Brave Warriors will move on to play Angola on Saturday for a spot in the quarterfinals.

It was Mali who won the section with five points, one more than South Africa and Namibia. Tunisia was eliminated after their game in Korhogo ended in a scoreless draw.

Coming up on January 30, Mali will play Burkina Faso in the round of 16.

Namibia beat Tunisia 1-0 in their first game, which was the country’s first ever AFCON win. However, their neighbours South Africa beat them 4-0 in their second game, so they needed a point from their last group match to be sure of making it to the next round.

In the 16th minute, Prins Tjiueza almost put Namibia ahead, but Mali custodian Djigui Diarra tipped his shot onto the post. Peter Shalulile then tried to score, but Djigui Diarra saved both shots.

Lloyd Kazapua of Namibia made a great save on Fousseni Diabate’s hard shot. Lassine Sinayoko, who scored against South Africa and Tunisia, then headed wide from close range.

Namibia held on to join their already-qualified opponents in the next round. Amadou Dante’s late free kick was turned behind by Kazapua in a game with few clear chances.

Photo by Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

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Zwane walked away with the Man of the Match award after scoring a brace in Bafana’s 4-0 win over Namibia at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo on Sunday.

The 34-year-old also played a crucial role in helping South Africa claim their first win in Group E as they now prepare to face Tunisia in their final group match.

Zwane says his confidence is high going into the next encounter but admits they are in for a tough battle against Tunisia in their must-win encounter at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium on Wednesday.

“Each game, I go with confidence of scoring goals,” Zwane said.

“Players that attack need to score, and I am glad to have scored and received this award. It means a lot to get the Man of the Match award and very happy to get the win today.

“We know that it is not over yet. It’s going to be a difficult one against Tunisia. We are going to analyse them properly and come up with a plan. We know that we definitely need a win in order to qualify.”

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Goals from Percy Tau, and Thapelo Maseko and a brace by Themba Zwane saw South Africa claim their first win in Group E at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo.

The win sees Bafana move up to second place in the Group E standings with three points, a point behind leaders Mali with four points after two matches.

Broos says they are high in confidence heading into their final group stage encounter against Tunisia following their victory over Namibia.

“We knew we had to win the game today to go through the group stages, so we were a little bit nervous at the beginning. But after we scored the first goal, we settled,” Broos told reporters.

“We played a good game having had a good analysis of the opponents. We showed the players where the weaknesses were.

“It is a good win, important for the goal difference and now we have a boost of confidence for the game against Tunisia, who are a very strong opponent.”

Photo by Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

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Goals from Percy Tau, and Thapelo Maseko and a brace by Themba Zwane saw South Africa claim their first win in Group E at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo.

The win sees Bafana move up to second place in the Group E standings with three points, a point behind leaders Mali with four points after two matches.

📹 HIGHLIGHTS: 🇿🇦 4-0 🇳🇦

A football show from South Africa in Korhogo with 4 goals to zero against Namibia. 📺#RSANAM | #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 | @Football2Gether

— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 21, 2024

Photo by Mehrez Toujani/BackpagePix

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Bafana Bafana had to win this game because they lost to Mali five days ago. They jumped out to a three-goal lead by halftime, with Zwane scoring both goals.

South Africa didn’t make it to the last Cup of Nations, so Hugo Broos, a Belgian, took over as coach. He said the team was “too old” and used Zwane as an example.

That was until Zwane kept playing well for his team, Mamelodi Sundowns, and the coach changed his mind.

After Percy Tau scored a penalty, Zwane scored twice more and Thapelo Maseko scored in the second half to give South Africa their biggest win margin in the competition.

Mali has four points, South Africa and Namibia each have three, and Tunisia has one point. The last games in the group are on Wednesday.

South Africa started Thapelo Morena after he came off the bench in the loss to Mali. His runs down the right side caused problems for Namibia right away.

From one, Namibian Riaan Hanamub handled the ball inside the area. The referee pointed to the spot after watching the play on a VAR screen at the field.

Tau got a lot of bad press for missing a penalty kick against Mali, but on 14 minutes, he made up for it with a beautifully struck low penalty that went past Lloyd Kazapua and into the corner of the net.

Tau, who plays for the Egyptian and African giants Al Ahly, ran back to the South African half with a smile on his face. Namibia, on the other hand, looked down because they had fallen behind so quickly.

Then Zwane started his show at a stadium with 20,000 seats in the northernmost of five cities in the Ivory Coast that were hosting Cup of Nations games.

Morena played a big role again when Zwane perfectly met his cross. The ball flew past Kazapua to give Bafana a two-goal lead after 25 minutes.

Based in Portugal When Sphephelo Sithole’s header hit the ground and went over, it was a great chance to score. He and Tau were the only starters who didn’t play for South African clubs.

His miss didn’t last long, though, because Zwane scored again to make it 3-0. He ran from the left side of the field to the goal and shot it past Kazapua and into the far corner of the net.

South Africa had the upper hand, and Kazapua did a great job as halftime approached, tipping a Morena shot just over the crossbar.

Broos, who won the 2017 Cup of Nations with Cameroon, was so sure that his team would win that he took Zwane off in the middle of the second half.

Maseko came on as a replacement and made an immediate impact by sprinting to control a long pass. Kazapua got a hand on his shot, but it still went into the goal.

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After two draws and seven losses in the competition since their 1998 debut, it was the Brave Warriors’ first win.

Hotto, who plays for Orlando Pirates in South Africa, charged forward and forcefully headed a cross from Bethuel Muzeu past goalie Bechir Ben Said.

In added time, Hotto had the ball in the net once more, but a slight offside call disallowed the goal.

Namibia had more shots on goal and more goal attempts than Tunisia did before the thrilling conclusion.

Youssef Msakni, the captain of Tunisia, equalled the record for most final appearances by playing in a Cup of Nations eight times, but defeat spoiled what he hoped would be an unforgettable night.

After just four minutes, a header from seasoned forward Taha Yassine Khenissi nearly put Tunisia ahead, but keeper Lloyd Kazapua parried it away.

Soon after, Ben Said stopped a snapshot taken by Peter Shalulile, the star and captain of the Namibian team and player for the defending South African champion Mamelodi Sundowns.

After focusing mostly on defence in the beginning, Namibia progressively increased their offensive efforts against the 2004 African champions.

After just fifteen minutes, Khenissi was forced off with injuries, and Haythem Jouini took over in the Tunisian attack.

A promising move that looked likely to break the stalemate ended in disappointment when Hotto made a poor pass inside the box.

To the relief of both teams, the referee stopped play midway through the first half for a water break. The temperature was 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) at kickoff at 1700 local (GMT) time.

The coach of Senegal, the 2022 Cup of Nations winners, Aliou Cisse, stated this week that playing in such heat is challenging.

“I am appealing to CAF (Confederation of African Football) to look at the issue of kick-off times, particularly those matches starting at 1400 local (GMT) time,” he told reporters.

The second half at the 20,000-seat Stade Amadou Gon Coulibaly got off to a dramatic start with Msakni coming dangerously close to opening the score for the Carthage Eagles.

Kazapua, merely Chippa United’s reserve custodian, brilliantly tipped his near-post header off a corner over the bar. Kazapua plays in the South African top league.

Stanley Nwabili, who is also present at the African football championship and represented Nigeria in a draw with Equatorial Guinea two days prior, is the first pick at Chippa.

In the second game of a Group E doubleheader later on Tuesday, Mali takes on South Africa in the northernmost of the five Ivorian cities hosting games.

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