The Zambia U-20 Men’s National Team is set to begin their TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) qualifiers| Cosafa U-20 Championship title defense in Maputo, Mozambique, which starts today, September 26 to October 5.

The qualifying tournament won by Zambia in 2022 will feature 12 teams competing for the regional trophy, with two finalists earning spots at the 2025 U-20 AfCON.

Zambia is in Group B alongside 2022 semi-finalists Angola, Namibia, and Madagascar. They will kick off their campaign against Angola on Friday, then face Namibia two days later. 

“We know we are the defending champions; we just have to go there and defend the trophy and the boys are ready for this challenge,” the team’s head coach, Boyd Mulwanda, told FAZ media before departure for Maputo. “Everyone is putting in their best from training; they have shown that they want to defend the trophy.”

First game against Angola is a must win – Mulwanda

Mulwanda believes winning the first game will determine how far the team will go in the competition.

“We have told the boys the first game is the most important game as we go into that tournament; the first result will determine how far we will go. So we have told the boys the first game we just have to go out right play attacking football and collect maximum points from that game.

Mulwanda added, “From our fans, we know what they expect nothing else apart from just defending the trophy. So we just have to go there and defend the trophy.”

Zambia took 5 years to qualify for the U-20 AfCON after winning in 2017, but their return in 2023 was disastrous, as they were eliminated from the group stage.

Led by Red Arrows coach Chisi Mbewe, they only drew once against Benin and lost 2-1 and 2-0 to Tunisia and The Gambia, respectively.

Mulwanda will hope that the team, which now includes some of the standout performers from the previous U-17 AfCON, such as Emmanuel Mwanza, can defend the Cosafa championship and go beyond the group stage of next year’s U-20 AfCON.

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