Mozambique U23

In the semi-final of the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in Egypt, Mozambique held Ghana to a goalless draw and lost only on penalties, 2-2 after spot kicks. The third-place match against South Africa ended the same way, 2-2 and defeat on penalties, leaving The Mambas fourth in a tournament that decided who would go to the Tokyo Olympics. Only the top three qualified, so that campaign brought no reward beyond the standing itself.

The side carries the nickname of Mozambican football at every level, and wears the same red shirts, green shorts and yellow socks drawn from the national flag that the senior team wears. Transfermarkt dates the team to November 2020, though the age group had already been competing years earlier, including in qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics against Mali.

Home matches are played at the Estádio Nacional do Zimpeto, opened in 2011 with room for 42,000, and the squad has used the training pitches at the Pro Academy on the Eduardo Mondlane University campus in Maputo to prepare. More recent qualifying campaigns, for the 2024 Paris Olympics and then for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, have brought matches against Botswana, Ghana and Mauritius at the same age level, without repeating the run of 2019.

That semi-final appearance remains the one result the team is measured against, and nothing since has matched it.