The Zambia U-17 National Team have been eliminated from the 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations despite recording their first victory in the competition.
Young Chipolopolo defeated group winners, Morocco 2-1 in their final group B match on Saturday night.
Zakaria Ouazane scored in the 18th minute to give the North Africans a 1-0 advantage at the interval. In the 73rd minute of the second stanza, Zambia’s Samson Malaya leveled the scores.
Emmanuel Mwanza’s penalty kick placed Zambia ahead in the 87th minute. This came after Marcel Zimba was fouled in the box.
Mwanza scored his third goal of the tournament and was named Man of the Match.
The win was, however, not enough for the Young Chipolopolo, who, according to the official CAF standings, finished bottom of Group B.
Meanwhile, due to South Sudan’s disqualification, South Africa’s win over Zambia was rendered null and void.
CAF’s new rule in this competition for determining the best-placed third teams stated that results against countries that finished fourth were not factored into the equation.
South Africa will now have to wait for the last group-stage game between Cameroon and Burkina Faso. If it will end in a draw or a low score, Amajimbo will be eliminated.
The Young Chipolopolo started their campaign with a 1-0 loss to Nigeria. They also lost their second match to South Africa who defeated them 3-2 to miss out on the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup qualification.
This was the second time Zambia was eliminated from the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations since their debut in 2015.
