Zambia U20 men’s national team head coach Boyd Mulwanda says his technical team is fully aware of South Africa’s style of play ahead of their clash in the 2024 COSAFA U20 Championship final, set for Saturday in Maputo.
Mulwanda’s side secured their spot in the final after a thrilling semifinal against Zimbabwe, winning 6-5 on penalties following a 2-2 draw in regular time.
Looking ahead to the final, Mulwanda expressed confidence in his team’s ability to find goals against South Africa.
“Playing the final, we just have to put in a good fight,” Mulwanda said. “I know South Africa will come very strong on us because they also want it more, and us being the defending champions, it won’t be easy. We just have to fight until the final whistle.
“We have watched the way South Africans play and we will plan for them and see if we can get the goals that we want to win us the final,” he said.
In the semifinal, Zambia dominated the first half, leading 2-0 at halftime, but Zimbabwe came back strong, scoring two goals in the second half to force the match into penalties.
Mulwanda shared the halftime message he gave his players, revealing that he urged them not to take Zimbabwe lightly.
“We told them not to underrate Zimbabwe anymore because they were going to make changes,” he revealed. “They studied the way we were playing and they made the changes. Their left wing was very effective, and they got the two goals they needed.”
‘Zambia deserves AfCON spot’ —Mulwanda
Zambia’s qualification for the final also means they have secured a spot in next year’s U20 Africa Cup of Nations, alongside South Africa. Mulwanda believes his team has done enough to deserve their place in the continental tournament.
“I think we have done enough to qualify for the AFCON,” he said. “We needed to qualify so that we consolidate the foundation for the senior team.”
Despite Zambia’s strong run, Mulwanda admitted there are defensive issues to address ahead of the final, particularly when dealing with opposition attacks.
“Every attack that comes our way looks very dangerous and at the end of the day, we are conceding goals that are not supposed to be goals. We will try and see how best we can cover up the defense.”
Zambia will be aiming for their 13th COSAFA U-20 title when they take on South Africa in the final.
READ MORE: Zambia qualifies for U-20 AfCON after beating Zimbabwe in Cosafa semifinal
