Zambia has made history by qualifying for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup — the first time the nation has ever achieved this feat.
The Young Chipolopolo secured their spot with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Uganda on Sunday night, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations. The tournament doubles as the African qualifier for the U-17 World Cup, which will take place in November in Qatar.
Needing only a draw to progress following their 4-1 victory over Tanzania and a 0-0 draw with Morocco in Group A, Zambia took the lead through Kelvin Chipelu, who reacted quickly to a loose ball and nudged it past Ugandan goalkeeper Adrian Mukwanga in the 20th minute. Despite Uganda creating more chances in the opening half, Zambia held onto their 1-0 advantage at the break.
Uganda came out strong in the second half and were rewarded in the 49th minute when Elvis Torash unleashed a powerful strike to level the score from a very tight angle.
Zambia had an opportunity to reclaim the lead in the 65th minute when captain Jonathan Kalimina was brought down in the box. However, substitute Billy Daka’s penalty was saved, keeping the score level.
Uganda appeared to gain momentum from the save, but in the 86th minute, Zambia struck again. Abel Nyirongo controlled the ball just outside the area and laid it off with his chest to Daka, who made no mistake this time, firing home to redeem himself and secure the win in the 86th minute.
In the quarterfinals, the Young Chipolopolo will face Burkina Faso, who boast a perfect record at this year’s tournament, having secured victories over Cameroon (2-1), Egypt (2-1), and South Africa (2-0) to finish top of Group B.
Bakala joins exclusive list of Zambian coaches
Zambia’s coach, Ian Bakala, has become the seventh Zambian coach to guide a national team to FIFA World Cup qualification at youth level. He described the match as challenging but expressed satisfaction in having met their objective.
“I think this year, it was our goal to go to the World Cup, and now we have to concentrate on the quarterfinals,” Bakala said during the post-match press conference. “It is a good thing we won. It was a very difficult game.”
Bakala also shared his relief that the long-term plan had come to fruition. “This qualification was critical to players because this programme of going to the World Cup has been there for almost three to four years now.”
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