The Zambia U-17 national team has continued to deliver beyond expectations following a resounding 5-2 victory over Honduras in their second Group H fixture at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025.
Zambia has since secured qualification to the knockout stage with a match to spare.
The young Chipolopolo Boys began firing from the onset. Kelvin Chipelu scored the opener in the 5th minute. 9 minutes later, Felix Phiri doubled Zambia’s lead.
Zambia put the game beyond reach of their Central American opponents, when James Sibeene rose the highest to nod the ball into the back of the net from the resulting corner in the 40th minute.
Honduras profited off a catastrophic back pass as Yeison Arriola reduced the deficit to make it 3–1 before the break.
Zambia level on points with Brazil.
The second half continued with the same amount of intensity, and it was Honduras who doubled their tally through David Ramirez in the 54th minute.
When the Central Americans began to envisage a comeback, substitute Billy Daka netted Zambia’s fourth of the game in the 74th minute. Abel Nyirongo put the icing on the game in the 88th minute.
Speaking after the game, U17 skipper Jonathan Moomba Kalimina couldn’t hide his excitement after the game, stating that “I am happy we worked together as a team with my friends; we are coordinating.”
The Junior Chipolopolo skipper has since called on his teammates to continue working as a team.
The captain further attributed the team’s success at the tournament to improved understanding of each other because the team has been together since COSAFA.
Awarded with the man of the match award, Kalimina said that he wouldn’t have won the award if it was not for his teammates.
He has since urged Zambian fans to remain supportive, stating that the team will also work hard in their game against Brazil because they would want to get maximum points and finish on top of the group.
Zambia are now level on six points with Brazil but separated by goal difference. This will be a penultimate end to the group, as the South American giants are a perfect litmus test for Zambia as they battle it out for first place against one of the tournament’s heavyweights.
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