The local boys would need to reach the final of the COSAFA Championship as only two spots are up for grabs in Mozambique. The team underwent a six-week long training and played a number of preparatory games against Eswatini, Mares and local elite league teams as head coach, Thaloba Nthaga, looked for a more refined side ahead of the qualifier. He said the focus was more on conditioning in the first weeks of training, whilst in the last three weeks, the team shifted focus to refining their tactics. On Wednesday, the Young Zebras had a recovery session before wrapping up their preparations. Nthaga said he had done his homework against the group opponents and expects a positive tournament from his side. Young Zebras are pitted against the hosts, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Eswatini in Group A.
"The only team I have seen is Eswatini because we have played them. I do not think the way they would play they are not going to be much different from the senior team. Remember, I travelled to COSAFA with the senior team, and we were in the same group with Eswatini and Mozambique but not Zimbabwe. So I have an idea of what to expect. I expect Zimbabwe to be a bit more direct and physical. I expect Eswatini to be more of the same thing and Mozambique that tries to play possession-based football, so I have an idea of what to expect from the teams in our group," Nthaga said.
