Zambia U-17 National Team’s chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals of the 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations dwindled after suffering a 3-2 defeat to South Africa on Wednesday night.
South Africa whirled to a two-goal lead in the first half thanks to Kaizer Chiefs youngster Vicky Mkhawana’s brace but Zambia pulled one back short before the end of the stanza through Emmanue Mwanza.
Zambia looked sharp in the second half, with Mwanza scoring again from outside the box to level scores, but Amajimbo’s Michael Dokumnu restored the lead eight minutes to fulltime to win the game.
It was the Young Chipolopolo Boys’ second defeat at the tournament following their 1-0 defeat to Nigeria in their opening match.
Their chances of reaching the quarterfinals now hinge on how they perform against Group B leaders Morocco in the final match on Saturday in Annaba, according to Cafonline.
Zambia’s only chance of making it to the last eight is if they can finish as one of the top two third-place teams and that is if they manage to beat Morocco.
But a draw game between Nigeria and South Africa will mean Zambia cant progress to the next round.
Bakala is confident Zambia will fight against Morocco
Despite the slim chance, coach Ian Bakala believes Zambia still has a chance to advance to the next round and will fight hard on Saturday.
“I think we have a high chance to beat Morocco,” he said during the post-match press conference on Wednesday night. “Most likely they will come underrating us and change the team, but we are not relying on that. We have to go there and win the game. It is a do or die match.”
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Bakala said he did not expect his side to lose to South Africa and that it was a painful loss, but they will put it behind them and focus on the final game.
“It is very painful to lose this match this way. With the way the game was going, we didn’t expect to lose. We conceded a very soft goal, but we must put this behind our backs and try to focus on Morocco.”
The junior AFCON serves as a qualifier for the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2023. The top four teams earn automatic qualification for the tournament, which will begin on November 10, 2023.
