Hosts South Africa and Mozambique claimed victories on the opening day of the Hollywoodbets Cosafa Women’s Championship 2022 on Wednesday, which marked the beginning of 12 days of pulsating action in Nelson Mandela Bay.
South Africa edged Angola 2-0 in their Group A opener as their youthful squad got off to a positive start as they seek to retain the title they lost to East African guest nation Tanzania in 2021.
The home side opened the scoring midway through the first half when Refilwe Maseko scored with a neat finish, beating the goalkeeper to the ball and lifting it over her opponent to finish into an empty net.
That advantage was doubled five minutes before halftime when Sphumelele Shamase added a second with another fine finish having been put into space on the left-hand side of the box.
The cherry on top for the home side came when Lithemba Sam-Sam went on an excellent solo run with a minute remaining and beat three defenders before scoring with an assured finish.
Mozambique cruised to a 5-0 success over Mauritius in their Group A opener as they take aim at the semifinals. The Mozambicans took the lead inside two minutes when Cidalia Cuta netted, having also scored in the recent TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA qualifier for her club Costa do Sol.
That lead was doubled when the unfortunate Elsa Dadard put the ball into her own net as Mauritius goalkeeper Mary Betty kicked the ball against her while trying to clear.
It was 3-0 before the half-hour mark when Lonica Tsanwane got her name on the scoresheet, and Deolinda Gove and Cina Manuel added further goals. The action will continue on Thursday as the opening matches in Group B get under way.
Zambia will no doubt be the favourites in this pool after qualifying for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year.
This will also be the second year in a row that Zambia and Namibia meet (3:30pm CAT, SA, GMT+2), with the Copper Queens having eased to a 3-0 win in 2021.
The Brave Gladiators will be better prepared in terms of knowing what to expect this time round. They also faced off in 2019, when Zambia won 3-2.
Eswatini and Lesotho kick-off the pool though (12pm CAT) as they aim for what could be a crucial three points in their bid to reach the second round.
Only the top team in each pool and the best-placed runner-up qualify for the semifinals.