South Africa claimed their second consecutive TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations | COSAFA Qualifier title on Sunday, defeating hosts Mozambique 2-1 in the final to complete a flawless tournament campaign of five wins from five matches.

Oarabile Booysen broke the deadlock with a stunning long-range strike in the 28th minute, only for Martinho Comecar to level for Mozambique just two minutes later. Steven Mendes then settled the contest from the penalty spot in the 58th minute, securing both the title and his own Golden Boot award — his sixth goal of the tournament.

Mendes, a forward for Kaizer Chiefs, had also converted two penalties in South Africa's 4-2 semi-final victory over Zambia, cementing his status as the competition's standout attacker. Amajita finished the tournament with 13 goals scored and only three conceded, keeping three consecutive clean sheets in the group stage before progressing through the knockout rounds.

Mozambique's memorable run

Despite the defeat, Mozambique enjoyed a remarkable campaign on home soil. They recovered from a 1-0 group-stage loss to Namibia — advancing as the best runner-up on Fair Play points ahead of Angola, with both sides finishing on six points and identical scoring records — and went on to beat Namibia 3-0 in the semi-finals through goals from Comecar, Diego Pelembe, and Hissen Socrate.

Mozambique were reduced to 10 men late in the final when Milton Macombe received a red card for a stamp on Mendes. Nevertheless, the hosts and South Africa both secured qualification for the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations Ghana 2027 as the two COSAFA representatives.

Mozambique's Alírio Cuna was named Player of the Tournament after scoring five goals across the competition, one fewer than Mendes. South Africa goalkeeper Takalani Mazhamba claimed the Golden Glove, while Namibia collected the Fair Play Award.

Zambia claim bronze

Earlier on Sunday, Zambia recovered from their semi-final exit to defeat Namibia 3-0 in the third-place play-off. Gift Mumbi opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, before Sipho Muntanga added a brace — first in the 62nd minute and then in the first minute of stoppage time — to secure the bronze medal for the Junior Chipolopolo.

Namibia had been one of the group stage's most impressive sides, winning all three matches without conceding, but could not replicate that form in the knockouts, suffering back-to-back 3-0 defeats to Mozambique and Zambia.

Tournament in numbers

The competition featured 22 matches and produced 73 goals at an average of 3.32 per game. The highest-scoring match was the 7-goal encounter between Mauritius and Seychelles in the group stage, while the biggest victories — both 5-0 — were recorded by Mozambique against Mauritius and Angola against Lesotho.