27/02/2015
Bafana get Zebras in Cosafa
South Africa will meet Botswana in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Cosafa Cup after the draw for the competition to be played in the North West province was made on Thursday.
Bafana Bafana will meet The Zebras on May 25, and could yet need to beat one of the powerhouses of the continent if they are to lift the title after Ghana were announced as a guest nation along with Tanzania.
Those two gained entry after Angola and Comoros declined their invitations to compete in the regional championship this year.
Ghana must wait to know their quarterfinal opponent, which will be the winner of Group B that contains Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius and Swaziland.
Holders Zambia also face an anxious wait as they will take on the top team in Group B, which could potentially set up a crunch meeting with Zimbabwe, who they have met in the last two tournament finals.
The other sides in that pool are Namibia, Lesotho and Tanzania.
The fourth quarterfinal sees Mozambique play Malawi.
The pool phase will begin on May 17 and finish on May 22, with the cup semifinals to be played on May 24 & 25. There will also be a plate competition for the losing quarterfinalists.
Zimbabwe and Zambia have each won the Cosafa Cup on four occasions, with South Africa and Angola the only other teams to have claimed a tournament win. They have three titles each.
South Africa’s last win came in 2008.
2015 COSAFA CUP FIXTURES
Group A 17/05 - Namibia vs Zimbabwe 17/05 - Lesotho vs Tanzania 19/05 - Zimbabwe vs Lesotho 19/05 - Namibia vs Tanzania 21/05 - Namibia vs Lesotho 21/05 - Zimbabwe vs Tanzania
Group B 18/05 - Seychelles vs Mauritius 18/05 - Madagascar vs Swaziland 20/05 - Mauritius vs Madagascar 20/05 - Seychelles vs Swaziland |22/05 - Seychelles vs Madagascar 22/05 - Mauritius vs Swaziland
KNOCKOUT STAGES
Quarterfinals 24/05 - Ghana vs Winner Group B 24/05 - Mozambique vs Malawi 25/05 - Zambia vs Winner Group A 25/05 - South Africa vs Botswana