Mopani Copper Mines Cosafa Under-20 Championships draw released

Mandla Moyo, Sports reporter

THE draw for the 2018 Mopani Copper Mines Cosafa Under- 20 Championships scheduled for 2 to 14 December in for Kitwe, Zambia has been released.

According to a press release by Cosafa the Zimbabwe Under-20 national side will play in Group C alongside Angola, Lesotho and Botswana a similar draw to the 2017 edition.

The Young Warriors will set the ball rolling with a game against neighbouring Botswana on 2 December before they clash with Lesotho three days later. Angola are the last group opponents for Zimbabwe, with the match to be played on 9 December.

In group B, South Africa, Namibia, Mauritius and Kingdom of Eswatini will fight for the other slots. South Africa are the defending champions after they dismissed Lesotho 2-1 in the final.

Zambia in Group A will lock horns with Malawi, Mozambique and newcomers Reunion who according to Cosafa are expected to add an extra dimension, and something unknown as a new associate member.

According to the rules to the competition laid down by Cosafa only the top teams in each pool and the best placed runners-up are set to advance to the semi-final where the competition switches to a knockout stage.

Coach Bekithemba Ndlovu and his assistant Mark Mathe are expected to start working on the squad awaiting further instructions from the national football regulatory authority, Zifa.

Even though Zimbabwe have a rich history of having won the competition six times, last year they were elbowed out during the first stage.

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