Mozambique clinched a place in the semi-finals of the Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Botswana, finishing the group stage with 5 points. 

In contrast, South Africa, despite also finishing with 5 points after a 1-0 win against Eswatini, were eliminated from the competition.

According to the COSAFA Cup semi-final qualification rules, when two or more teams finish on the same number of points in the pool phase, they are first separated by their head-to-head results. 

If that doesn't resolve the tie, the next criteria considered is the goal difference in group matches between the teams concerned, followed by the total number of goals scored in all group matches.

In this case, Mozambique advanced based on a superior goal difference of +2 compared to South Africa's +1. The head-to-head rule did not apply as Mozambique and South Africa drew 1-1 in their group match.

Additionally, South Africa missed the chance to qualify as the best group stage runner-up, as Kenya from Group A remained in contention with 6 points.