Mozambique to make the most of limited experience in Windhoek

Mozambique will be looking to repeat, or even improve on, their performance in last year’s COSAFA Under-17 Girls’ Championship when they take part in the latest edition in Windhoek, Namibia from May 10-17.

After topping Group A on debut with a hat-trick of wins in Johannesburg last December, Mozambique fell to Lesotho in the semi-finals. This was the nation’s best performance in the tournament to date.

According to coach Júlia Fumo, Mozambique’s preparation for the 2025 tournament is well underway.

“We started the preparation in March, but only with the players from the country’s capital (Maputo). This week the other players from the other provinces of the country will arrive to perfect the team’s tactical training and play some warm-up games,” she said.

According to Fumo, only 20% of this year’s squad participated in last year’s tournament. She says these players have an advantage over those who are new to the stage.

“The players who can stand out the most are those who have a certain amount of experience in this competition,” she said.

While perhaps less experienced than other squads at the tournament, Fumo will lean on those who played last year to lead the side and provide the spark to ignite their performance.

“The athletes do not have much experience in international games, except for those who participated in the last tournament. We are counting on them to bring some dynamism to the team,” said Fumo.

While an equally or more successful campaign than last year would be welcomed, Fumo is not focused solely on the outcome of this tournament for her side.

“In this tournament, I hope we can represent our country with dignity, put on a good show and compete,” she said.

Mozambique have been drawn in Group B along with defending champions Zambia and Mauritius. Only the pool winners and the best-placed runner-up across the three groups advance to the semifinals.

MOZAMBIQUE
Tournament finishes:
2019 – Did not enter
2020 – Did not enter
2021 – Did not enter
2022 – Did not enter
2023 – Not played
2024 – Semifinals

All-time match record:
P4 W3 D0 L1 GF9 GA2

Biggest victory: 5-0 vs Comoros (Group Stage, 04/12/2024)
Biggest defeat: 0-1 vs Lesotho (Semifinals, 11/12/2024)

ALL-TIME GOALSCORERS
3 goals – Ana Armando, Teresa Gogolo
1 – Judite Cumbi, Fátima Houana, Victoria Tennyson