Zambia U17 men’s national team is one win away from defending the COSAFA Championship title after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over hosts South Africa in the semifinals on Wednesday.
The match, which saw both sides reduced to ten men, set up a final showdown against Angola on Friday.
South Africa struck first, with Simphiwe Mlondo finishing off a well-worked team move just a minute into the game.
Zambia equalized in the 22nd minute, from the penalty spot after VAR confirmed a foul in the box. Abel Nyirongo sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.
The defending champions suffered a setback shortly after equalizing, as Vincent Mutondo was shown a straight red card in the 27th minute for stamping on Mlondo. Despite being a man-down, Zambia’s resilience showed, driven by their mission to retain the title.
“For us, we had a mission. We only came here to defend our trophy,” head coach Ian Bakala said after the match.
South Africa also went down to ten men just before halftime, with goalkeeper Lwandiso Radebe sent off for handling a goal-bound shot from Abel Nyirongo outside the box.
In the second half, substitute Robert Banda scored the winner, tapping in from close range after Nyirongo’s shot slipped through the hands of replacement goalkeeper Mosia Lehlohonolo.
“We are here to defend”-Bakala.
The match was halted in the 83rd minute due to bad weather but resumed after a half-hour delay. Zambia held on through four minutes of added time to seal the victory.
Speaking in a post-match interview, Bakala praised junior Chipolopolo boys mental strength.
“I have to give credit to the players. Mentally, they are very strong. Like I said, South Africa plays passing football, but the way we have mentored our boys, they were more prepared mentally,” he said.
With this win, Zambia has already achieved their first objective: qualification for the 2025 U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast. Now, they aim to accomplish their second goal of retaining the COSAFA Championship title.
“We are here to defend. The first objective was to qualify for the Africa Cup, and the second is to get our cup back. The team that looked stronger was South Africa, and now we’ve overcome that. Going into the game against Angola, we just have to win and correct our mistakes,” Bakala added.
Zambia will face Angola, who defeated Zimbabwe 2-0 in the other semifinal, in a highly anticipated final on Friday.
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