Zambia claim seventh COSAFA title

It was a tense and hard-fought decider that could have gone either way, but defending champions, Zambia, went on to retain the COSAFA title!

By ZamFoot

Lusaka, July 17 – Moyela Libamba scored the only goal as Zambia claimed a record seventh HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Lesotho in a thrilling final played at a packed King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban on Sunday.

It was a tense and hard-fought decider that could have gone either way, but defending champions, Zambia, retain their crown and move ahead of Zimbabwe on the all-time winners’ list.

Lesotho were hoping to become the sixth nation to lift the coveted Southern African title but, like in 2000 in their only other final appearance, they have to settle for the silver medal.

So it’s still only Zambia (7 titles), Zimbabwe (6), South Africa (5), Angola (3) and Namibia (1) that have been victorious.

Also Read: 9 iconic footballers who had their shirt numbers retired!

Lesotho thought they had the lead in the second half when Motebang Sera had the ball in the back of the net, a ‘goal’ that would have taken him to within one of Felix Badenhorst (nine) in the all-time scorers charts in the COSAFA Cup.

Instead, it was ruled offside in the tightest of calls, showing the thin margins between success and failure. It was therefore Zambia’s moment to celebrate as Libamba Moyela rose powerfully to head home a corner on 78 minutes and provide what proved the pivotal moment in the game.

Zambia XI :
▪️Francis Mwansa
▪️Samson Mkandawire, Killan Kanguluma, Mathews Chabala, John Chishimba
▪️Kelvin Mubanga Kampamba (Joshua Mutale 75′), Kelvin Kapumbu, Fredrick Mulambya
▪️Golden Mashata, Albert Kangwanda (Andrew Phiri 75′), Moyela Libamba (Benedict Chepeshi 86′)

Final Score: Lesotho 🇱🇸 0-1 Zambia 🇿🇲

You can follow Woodpecker’s Digest on Twitter and Facebook. Remember to add to the comments below to share your thoughts.