Home CAF U20 Zambia win first U20 title after beating Senegal

Zambia win first U20 title after beating Senegal

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Zambia beat Senegal 2-0 in the final on Sunday in Lusaka to be crowned champions of the Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Zambia 2017.

First half goals from Patson Daka and Edward Chilufya was all the Junior Chipolopolo needed to claim their first ever title in the history of the biennial competition.

Besides being the second Southern African country after Angola (in 2001) to be crowned champions, Zambia’s feat makes them the fourth host to claim the ultimate after Morocco (1997), Ghana (1999) and Congo (2007).

Zambia was the only team in the competition to win all matches and they capped their campaign in grand style with the title in hand.

Watched by a full house at the 60,000-capacity Heroes National Stadium in the capital, Lusaka, including President of the country, Edgar Lungu, the Junior Chipolopolo ensured the fans left the stadium the happiest.

Senegal really tested the Zambians but their efforts were little enough to save them from a successive final defeat. ‘Les Lionceaux’ lost 0-1 to Nigeria in the 2015 final on home soil.

It was the Senegalese who started on a positive note and on seven minutes, Ibrahima Niane tested Zambia goalie Mangani Banda with a low shot, which Banda collected calmly.

On the quarter-hour mark, Fashion Sakala was gifted with Zambia’s first major chance. He outwitted his marker but his angled shot missed target by inches.

Two minutes later, the stadium erupted as Daka gave the Junior Chipolopolo the lead capitalising on a blunder by Senegal goalie Lamine Sarr. Sarr failed to make a firm grab of Sakala’s seemingly harmless shot and Daka who was lurking around slotted home to send the over 50,000 fans into a frenzy mood.

The goal brought out the best of ‘Les Lionceaux’ who stepped up their game in search of the equalizer. However, it was Zambia who managed to score on 34 minutes from yet another mistake by Sarr. The goalie in his bid to clear his lines saw his shot come off the body of Chilufya as the ball headed straight into his own net.

Senegal were the better team in the second half dominating in possession and pinning the Zambians to their half with Niane and Aliou Badji coming close a couple of times.

Midway, the host almost scored the third following a one-two between Enock Mwepu and Sakala that saw Daka at the receiving end. Daka lobbed past onrushing Sarr only for Senegal captain Mamadou Diarra to clear the ball off the line to his side’s relief.

The final minutes saw the Zambians defence kept boiling following raids by the Senegal attack, however they held on to claim victory.

Total Man of the Match: Mangani Banda (Zambia)

Zambia XI: 1. Mangani Banda – 13. Shemmy Mayembe 2. Moses Nyondo 5. Moses Nyondo 3. Prosper Chiluya – 11. Enock ‘Computer’ Mwepu, 21. Boyd Musonda, 12. Emmanuel Banda Jnr – 10. Fashion Sakala, 20. Patson Daka 14. Edward Chilufya

67 Comments

  1. But the aspects of throwing juju Mu goal was far fetchiba and ba zamfoot ,I need clarity on this one .talk to Banda explain to us for we don’t speculations

  2. Thank you guys,you’ve done it 4 mother Zambia .We will now patiently wait to c who are our opponents for the upcoming worldcup. Enjoy fellas✌?

  3. Well done lads s/o to FAZ ,Quick silver and technical bench ,enjoy the moment ,rest and stay humble work extra hard for a better platform awaits for you .chipolopolo iye

  4. Well done boys. …unfortunate the young Senagalese boys are obsessed with juju. ….considering they have had so many successful players in Europe would have thoroughly they would have been told that such things don’t work. …..West Africans are really stuck in the dark ages ….just look at there movies to see how obsessed they are with witchcraft

    • And here am I waiting for you to tell me how hopeless our coach is??! Told you I would look for you!! Your silence on the issue tells me how humbled u must be!!!
      However, the Senegalese coach says he never saw the juju issue??! And that he does not believe in juju but good preparations!! What bull!!?

      • Prince Beston I’d a chicken. ….I will only give him credit if he takes us to the semifinal of the world cup. ….I have watched all the games in the stadium. …..and anyone who has can agree with me that home ground advantage has played a huge role in the teams performance. …Beston has no data. …..If it was up to me….wada would take then to the world cup

  5. If Zambia doesn’t qualify to the senior world cup in 2022, then this cup and team will mean nothing. Let’s see if Kamanga and Company can develop this talent to take us to the world cup.

    • Well spoken…ours is to enjoy this mountain peck…take in the view and enjoy the breath, then decend and move on to 2022 while playing every major African tournament along the way!

      • Agree with you Prince. I think this is the time for everyone to be happy Kalu cadres included. Kamanga and his people that are buying into his leadership did a tremendous job preparing the boys to succeed. It’s all about getting ready, something the admins never did. I will leave it at and just have everyone enjoy the success while it lasts.

    • Yeah Patson is deadly on the goal. Zambia needed that young talent like him. I love the power when he takes off and tries to separate himself from the defenders. Everything he does, the speed, is what we need in our top striker. The future looking good for mother Zambia.

  6. 3rd Fashion. …..4 Edward Chilufya and the number 12….Emmanuel Banda….attacking wise we have talent…..defence. ….very mediocre. ….will be exposed at the world cup

    • Those 5 are too many. Sorry their positions are competitive. Senior team is in search of a goalkeeper, and defenders, they have Stophila only.
      A tactician can turn that Mwepu in a central defender.

  7. Patson daka is exceptional. The west africans they used to mock him and some they call him the lionel mesi of zambia.. Where are you now. Patson daka is the player of the tournament.. The boys they also won all the awards like what the senior team 2012..

  8. The under 20 defence is shaking especially the two centre backs. Solomon sakala is not a natural center back. From what i observed he is playing out of position.

  9. Amazing job on behalf of the bench and technical staff, a lot of things came together to deliver this victory and beautiful moment on Zambian soil. I am very pleased the hard work has paid off in this time for one of Zambias youth teams. Pleased for the staff and coach.

    The preperation was excellent, this is what we hope for every team before competition starts. I hope we can continue to do the same!

    The players were amazing, i can’t find faults. Great purpose about the squad, great talents all over. Chilufya has a great eye for goal. Daka led the line very well and could have had a few more goals easily had he not been called for fouls which were not.

    We must not get carried to far away as this is just youth african cup good as it is. We have seen what can happen to young players so we must take extra care and try for more fulfillment!

  10. this isnt about how efficient kamanga has been. its the spirit and dedication of the boys and their coach. beston has drilled them into a disciplined unit. so no one shud come here praising kamanga this kamanga that, the man is taking us nowhere

    • Nobody is singling out Kamanga though he didn’t put a foot wrong. Besides Kamanga still has allot of work to do so we don’t need to give him his praise yet.

      When Zambia wins it is tribute to many people who made it possible. We don’t need to begrudge or fight. Kalu does indeed have a hand, as does Kamanga as does many people we may never see. Let’s not fight for scraps and just keep working for good.

      • @seen, actually I am one of those people that believe Kamanga gets credit for making sure the team was sent to Europe to get ready for tournament and because of being preparedness, we won the cup. So there’s that. Can’t prove me wrong, anything out there is blowing smoke our @$$es and we ain’t interested in hearing it, atleast not me.

        • Preparing for the tournament is one thing winning the rights to host it is another, don’t forget for the other teams they had to fight to qualify we didn’t all because faz then fought to host this tournament.So Kamanga doesn’t get the praise from me he just did what was expected of him let’s not exaggerate his ego or else he will fail

          • One of the problems with Kalusha was interference with the Team (selection of players) and in most cases he would even join the Team in the dressing room at the beginning of the game as well as during half time break… and many other tips which affected to some extent the Technical bench as well as the players

    • @ S T U M P Y,
      Some pipo like T C SOCCER MAN want to start bringing kamanga issues, for what reasons ?
      You are very right my man stupy

      • Because, you the same people would have been b!tching had Zambia done badly in this tournament,we ain’t all fools here, we know you would be saying something like “we told you so, Kalu would have won us the cup had he been the Faz president” when the price of unga goes up, don’t you b!Tch about it and blame edger lungu? Well, same here, the leader created an environment for the team to succeed and he gets the credit, like it or not.

      • @Grand, be honest, if Zambia performed bad in this tournament, what would you have been saying? I want you to be honest,if you won’t then don’t even bother to respond.

    • The boys did their part…very correct observation because they were prepared and treated as professionals to a point where they had a Chipolopolo branded bus IN SPAIN to motivate them…organised by the administration…led by Kamanga and Ponga…when did Zambia U20 ever play the likes Barcelona B? Organised in a day after bad weather cancelled Real Madrid meet?!! He is not taking us anywhere, really??! You are a bloody Champion this morning because of his watch dummy!

  11. Congrats boyz u’ve made us proud, what a youth day present.To the coach and technical team thumbs up, but our coach should learn to freshen up the team. The boyz got tired in the second half and the team needed fresh blood.

  12. Kamanga now need to insure that we go to the world cup, so far so good. I actually give him a B+ so far in his leadership, now drain the swamp and remove all the antagonists at Faz in order to fulfill the agenda which is to bring Zambia to one of the best on the continent and to qualify us to the Senior world cup. Enough of the politics at Faz with Kalu’s people still there. We want good results at the Senior level and we be able to achieve them faster if the antagonists are out of Faz.

  13. kalu was reconciled to Kananga and they eat together while a blogger payed to be kalu’s choirmaster still thinks otherwise. ubu cushi bubi.

  14. regional champions, african champions, it makes sense for zambia to go to the world. The coach and players too good. Fifa should revise soccer rules to include penalties for players wearing strange things. Throwing foreign things on the pitch

  15. Even this time around Konto coach for Senegal will deny it that no juju was thrown Mu goal.frustration was seen and desperation in Senegalese ,bane God z great and watchful for that matter.

  16. I keenly followed HOW this under 20 started Camping for COSAFA and Junior AFCON way back even before the 2016 MTN super league ended – NO SWEET without sweat they say ! Now eyes on the U20 World Cup preparations.

  17. Keep it up U20 boys, you have a great attitude and your discipline and prayerfulness will help you not only in football but in life as a whole! Congratulations Zambia!

  18. @ TC SOCCER MAN
    @ R I C H P O P O

    you disciples of kamanga, your thinking is very shallow.
    You accused kalu of corruption for bring the P.Daka , Luchanga, etc to the national team, Tooday you are happy because most of these boys had more exposure more than three years ago.
    This was the only squared that that qualified to the under 17 afcon two years ago.
    This development started long time ago.

  19. Zambians, am thanking AIR TEL for bring RISING STARS in which most of the players were tapped from .
    Unfortunately these program has stopped

    • The program stopped because Airtel was unhappy with the lack of accountability of its money by the corrupt Kalusha Bwalya and his amigos. ….It shocks me when I see people singing Kalu praises as an administrator. ……as a footballer yes…….even I would sing the loudest …..as an administrator the chap is a punk

      • It’s amazing how people can slander someone without facts and be proud of it. Like all other projects the Airtel rising Stars project came to an end.besides Zambian that project was also running in many other countries. Are you saying all these nation’s have were not showing accountability! Get your facts right don’t just rant like you are about to start your pee’s

  20. To be honest the this team is the best u20 team of our time why :
    1. They are spiritual and hungry for victory.
    2. Patriotic.
    3. Very skilled including the bench and those who were dropped.
    4. Our defense was very calm, they could dribble and make intelligent passes.
    5. The midfielders were not only good at distributing the ball but also very skillful and intelligent.
    6. I loved, not liked, the movement of the boys upfront they showed maturity and are, to be honest, ready to take on bigger boys.

    Let me single out players whom I have seen to be mature to take on bigger boys.
    1. Patson Daka
    2. Fashion Sakala
    3. Boyd Musonda (needs to be educated with regards to discipline)
    4.Edward Chilufya.

    Enock Mwepu needs some more maturity, wow, I love this boy on the thats why we do not need to rush him.
    There is no solid cohesion in the back line as we seem to be in panic whenever faced with with a sharp front line, please Ba Coach sharpen that back-line if you do so with also a few changes upfront the World cup will come into Zambia. Upfront, the striking force, please try and find a mix of creativity so as to release Fashion Sakala and Patson Daka. If we solidify our back-line and Sharpen our front-line more then we can match the prowess of some of the best creative team in the world like Argentina, Brazil and Germany.
    The other thing is we need some motivational chats to the Boys not to be afraid of names and the colour, these Boys are talented and skilled please camp them as promised in Europe mainly to expose them to other dynamics and environments.

  21. Congratulations to the young men and the Coaching staff. Did the Nation proud!! They beat every team we faced though Guinea(1st game)and South Africa(Semi Final) were our toughest games.

    The boys were playing with passion, confidence and the desire to win at all costs. This has been lurking in most Zambian teams.

    Paston Daka, Fashion Sakala, Edward Chilufya, B.Musonda, Prosper Chilufya and Mangani Banda need to be promoted to the Senior team.

    Though now the real work begins to prepare these boys for the W.C. It’s a high level there. I’m a bit concerned with our defense especially Central defense. The looked exposed numerous times when facing quick players. We saw it against RSA, Guinea and a bit against Senegal in the Final.

    On a final note, shame on the Senegalese who i think have a good team. Why put charms on opposition goal and the other player # 10 had some charms on his hand. In this day and age you can’t depend on voodoo.

  22. @ S O C C E R G U RU,
    You may be a mad man, cause air tel never funded faz for the rising star, ask the owner of kafuel Celtics which produced patson Daka. Where did air tel say what you are saying. If you fail to give me the data where air tel said that, then you may be a mad man

  23. People of Zambia this is the secret and trick to qualifying for the senior world cup…Build U20 teams and perform well in the U20 world cup…Trust me many of your players will get contracts with some small European teams after the tournament and they work their ways up to the top teams in Europe. This has been the secret of Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal the West Africa giants…You don’t qualify senior world cup just because you have beaten top nations and won AFCON. It is more than that. You need consistency and you have been lacking it in the senior level. With this build up trust me you will qualify for the next world cup easily… From a Ghanaian Kofi.

    • Unfortunately I do not agree soccer is dynamic and it depends on how you view it, your investment into it, your mental strength and your skill levels. Ask your self a candid question why do South American countries qualify without their dependence on Europe and then all you sing about is Europe….Europe….. The other question you must ask yourself is, why is Europe after African players even a blind man can see that there is unique talent in Africa because the same black people have won the World Cup with Brazil and France but have failed to win it as Africans! Why? “INFERIORITY COMPLEX OF THE HIGHEST ORDER”. How are you going to inspire the Youngsters if all you are going to sing is Europe when the whole Europe are inspired by PELE and Maradona these guys are South Americans. Slavery must be uprooted out of your feeble (because you have accepted)Minds.

  24. Prince I support you! I am embarrassed by people who have never played soccer in the premier league, coached a team not even an amateur team but they deem themselves to be experts and criticize a man who has done no other coach has before! What a shame! “Footballngulu!”

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