Zambia with the COSAFA U20 trophy they won last year
Zambia and Angola have booked their places in the final of the 2011 Metropolitan COSAFA Under-20 Youth Championships in Botswana after the two semifinals played at the Molepolole Stadium on Thursday.
Zambia defeated host nation Botswana 2-0, while the Angolans produced a brilliant late comeback to see off Malawi.
Angola, who have never won this competition before despite three final appearances in a row between 2000 and 2002, sealed their place in the 2011 decider with a thrilling come-from-behind 4-2 victory over Malawi.
After missing a routine chance earlier in the game, Dalisto Sailesi gave Malawi a deserved lead on 42 minutes.
A well-flighted ball into the box from a free-kick by Tony Chitsulo was only partially cleared and Mike Kaziputa drove it back into the mix, where Sailesi was on hand to beat the keeper.
And the Malawians looked to be cruising when they took a 2-0 lead on 63 minutes as Maxwell Mwanyongo profited from another excellent Chitsulo delivery.
But within two minutes Angola had pulled one back through Almeida Valdemar and it changed the complexion of the game.
Because just three minutes after that, Domingos Mateus equalised as he profited from some lackluster defending to slot the ball home and from then on the Angolans were on top.
The game looked as though it might be heading for a penalty shoot-out though with neither side able to break the deadlock, until Angola finally did two minutes into injury-time.
Mateus was again the scorer as he cleverly worked space for himself to find the back of the net. And there was still time for one more goal as Adriano headed home Mateus’ corner to give the scoreline a more emphatic look.
Zambia were ahead in the second semifinal on 26 minutes as they made their pressure tell, Evans Kangwa scoring his sixth goal of the tournament after a well-taken free-kick on the edge of the box.
And they doubled their advantage 12 minutes later when Kizito Cheelo scored for the Young Chipolopolo after excellent build-up play from the Zambians, with the midfielder providing a fine finish.
It was always going to be a long way back from there for the home side, though they did have their moments. Zambian goalkeeper Moses Mapulanga was forced to pull off an excellent save to deny Unobatsha Mbaiwa.
The final between Zambia and Angola will take place at the University of Botswana Stadium in Gaborone on Saturday at 15h00, with the third-place play-off between Botswana and Malawi scheduled for 11h00 at the same venue.  Â