The Diamond Zebras beat hosts Mauritius 1-0 in their opening game at the on-going 2018 COSAFA Under-17 Championships. Botswana’s only goal was scored by Oageng Diego Maphorisa from the penalty spot in the 85th minute. The Young Zebras are second in Group A after Namibia who demolished Seychelles 8-3. The Young Zebras play Seychelles on Saturday at 1000hrs Botswana time. Tumi Duiker – the Young Zebras’ coach – was adamant that they need to beat Seychelles to book a place in the semi-finals. Tebogo Kopelang won the man of the match award. After the Seychelles game, the team will play Namibia on July 24 to complete the group stage of the tournament. There are two other groups being Group B: Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa and Lesotho; and Group C made up of Zimbabwe, Angola, Malawi and Swaziland. Zambia are the tournament’s defending champions. Finals will be played on July 29, 2018.This year’s regional tournament serves as a qualifier for the 2019 African Under-17 Championships, which in turn will supply the continent’s four representatives at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Peru next year.