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Bafana Bafana Lifts COSAFA Cup, Ends Five-Year Drought

Southern Africa's golden tournament, the COSAFA Cup got underway in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), South Africa on July 6 -18, 2021. 

The tournament saw the late withdrawal of Madagascar from the 2021 COSAFA Cup, forcing a change in the competition's format which had two groups of five teams each. Madagascar had been unable to secure their travel to Nelson Mandela Bay for the tournament which, following the decision of Comoros Islands not to participate, left the original Group B with only Zambia and Malawi, a COSAFA press release said. 

Host South Africa beat Botswana 1-0 and went on to meet the eSwatini side. Namibia suprised by thumping Senegal 2-1 and Lesotho in an equally suprising win over Zambia. Zimbabwe and Mozambique never managed to light up the scoreboard with a 0-0 result in their match.This tournament proved to be quite unpredicable this time round. See the COSAFA Cup scoreboard here.

South Africa's Bafana Bafana in their third game cruised to the semi-final by beating Lesotho 4-0, with a history making hat-trick from debutant Victor Letsoalo, following an earlier goal from Sphelele Mkhulise. In the final, the team played to a goalless draw with Senegal, winning the COSAFA Cup on a penalty shootout 5-4 on July 18, 2021.

Victor Letsoalo has won the tournament's Golden Boot and is the first debutant to score a hat-trick. He scored four goals in all at the tournament.

InFocus

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soccer (file photo).

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