OnSport Reporter
Zimbabwe’s Under-17 national team’s poor campaign at the ongoing COSAFA U-17 Championships has left the nation with many questions but head coach, Thulani Sibanda believes a tight trials and training period could have hindered proper player selection.
Zimbabwe failed to win a single Group A game failing to score in the first two game, a loss and a draw against Mozambique and Eswatini respectively before netting two in a 3-2 defeat to Comoros at Ngoni Stadium.
The Young Warriors opened with a 1-0 loss to Mozambique, drew 0-0 with Eswatini, and needed victory in their final match to stand a chance of progressing. Instead, they conceded twice early on, fought back through a spirited second-half rally, but ultimately fell short.
Speaking after the loss to Comoros, Sibanda players express themselves differently with some being extroverts and coming out of their shells quickly while others are introverts and need time to be assessed and show their true skill.
“If the time is short, you will only see the extroverts only and have trust in them and when the going gets tough like what has happened you get to see the other side,” he said.
In his post-match assessment, Sibanda lamented costly defensive errors.
“We gave away soft goals,” he said, noting that his side lacked concentration at crucial moments. “At this level, one mistake and you are chasing the game.”
Sibanda believes going forward whoever the coach will be and whatever programme they have needs to start now with the big pool of players that were there, he said people can still go thorough on those players.
“We have seen the good and bad performers from this team, just to add to this team the good players that were left out.
“Maybe a long run period of training which can enable you to identify some of the weaknesses and work on them. We need a longer time for scouting,” he said.
Mozambique and Comoros have both qualified for the semifinals of the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2026 | COSAFA Qualifiers after the final set of pool matches in Group A were played in Harare on Monday.
Mozambique defeated Eswatini 4-0 to top the pool with seven points and a +5 goal-difference, while Comoros edged hosts Zimbabwe 3-2 to also finish with seven points and a +4 goal-difference.
It ensures both are through, as no-one can overhaul Comoros as the best runner-up across the three pools.
South Africa (six points, +8) and Malawi (six points, +3) meet in a final winner-takes-all clash in Group B on Tuesday, where the victor will advance top of the group.
However, if it is a draw, Malawi will not be able to beat Comoros’ record as they will also be on seven points but with a +3 goal-difference. No team in Group C can finish second with more than six points, with Angola already confirmed as group winners.
TUESDAY’S FIXTURES
Group B
Malawi vs South Africa (KO 12h00; 10h00 GMT) – Ngoni Mwos Stadium
Zambia vs Madagascar (KO 12h00; 10h00 GMT) – Hearts Stadium
Group C
Lesotho vs Botswana (KO 15h00; 13h00 GMT) – Ngoni Mwos Stadium
Angola vs Mauritius (KO 15h00; 13h00 GMT) – Hearts Stadium
GROUP STANDINGS
GROUP A
P W D L GF GA GD PTS
Mozambique (Q) 3 2 1 0 5 0 5 7
Comoros (Q) 3 2 1 0 6 2 4 7
Zimbabwe 3 0 1 2 2 4 -2 1
Eswatini 3 0 1 2 0 7 -7 1
GROUP B
P W D L GF GA GD PTS
South Africa 2 2 0 0 9 1 8 6
Malawi 2 2 0 0 5 2 3 6
Madagascar 2 0 0 2 2 8 -6 0
Zambia 2 0 0 2 1 6 -5 0
GROUP C
P W D L GF GA GD PTS
Angola (Q) 2 2 0 0 10 0 10 6
Lesotho 2 1 0 1 3 7 -4 3
Mauritius 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 1
Botswana 2 0 1 1 1 6 -5 1
Additional reporting from Cosafa.com
