Zambia’s U-15 national team, has been crowned Tier B champions at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival after defeating Portugal 2-5 in the final at Crystal Hall in Baku today.
The victory crowns an outstanding campaign for coach Brian Kunsanama’s side in FIFA’s new global youth festival, which features 189 national teams playing eight-a-side, 40-minute matches.
Zambia qualified for Tier B after finishing second in their group on 12 points from five games, with four wins and one defeat.
Their campaign included an emphatic 13-0 victory over Montserrat, alongside wins over Tanzania (3-1), Moldova (2-1), and Comoros (3-2).
Drawn into Tier B after the group stage—Tier A being the only tier that decides the overall World Champion—Zambia embarked on a remarkable knockout run:
The Junior Chipolopolo started with a dramatic comeback in the Round of 32, beating England 3-2 after trailing 2-0, with goals from Maxen Msimuko, Samuel Musonda, and Chrispine Katoba.
They followed that with a 2-0 win over Niger in the Round of 16, thanks to strikes from Benson Bwalya and Msimuko.
Three Other African Nations Won.
On Thursday, Zambia played twice in one day—beating Slovakia 3-1 in the quarter-finals before edging Senegal 4-3 in a thrilling semi-final.
In that semi-final, Zambia came from behind three times, with Moses Munkombwe equalizing, Msimuko scoring twice to take his tournament tally to 13 goals, and Musonda scoring the winner after providing two assists.
In today’s final, Zambia overcame Portugal, who had reached the final after eliminating South Africa 2-1 in the Round of 16, to secure the Tier B title, which carries an overall ranking of 33rd in the tournament.
The triumph means Zambia is one of four African nations to win a tier final in Baku, alongside Tunisia in Tier C, the Central African Republic in Tier E, and Ethiopia in Tier F.
