By Zim Sport Live Writer
Zimbabwe have booked their place in the semi-finals of the COSAFA Women’s Cup after securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Botswana on Tuesday afternoon at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in South Africa.
Veteran striker Rutendo Makore proved to be the difference-maker, scoring the decisive goal in the 65th minute to seal Zimbabwe’s progression to the last four. The strike was her second goal of the tournament, adding to her tally from Zimbabwe’s opening 2-0 win over Eswatini.
Makore’s experience and composure in front of goal have been crucial to the Mighty Warriors’ impressive group-stage campaign.
The win over Botswana followed a gritty goalless draw against Zambia on Sunday, ensuring Zimbabwe remained unbeaten in Group B.
Zimbabwe finished second in Group B with seven points, level with group leaders Zambia. However, Zambia advanced as group winners due to a superior standing.
The Mighty Warriors progressed as the best overall runners-up across the three groups, in accordance with tournament rules that grant semi-final qualification to the three group winners and the top-performing second-placed team.
In the calculation for the best runners-up, the matches against the bottom side in Groups A and B are removed, which leaves Zimbabwe with four points on the mini-table and Malawi with three. No team can finish second in Group C with more than three points, so it means Zimbabwe have booked their spot in the last-4.
In the semi-finals, Zimbabwe will face seven-time champions South Africa, who topped Group A.
Already-qualified South Africa had to come from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Lesotho in their final Group A match at Seshego Stadium but still topped the pool with seven points.
The highly anticipated clash against South Africa sets up a thrilling regional showdown as the Mighty Warriors aim to continue their strong run in the COSAFA Women’s Cup.
Meanwhile, Zambia will meet the winner of Group C, which will be decided after the match between Mozambique and Madagascar.
With momentum firmly on their side, the Mighty Warriors are now just two victories away from lifting the COSAFA Women’s Cup trophy and reclaiming regional dominance in Southern African women’s football.