Blog: A look at the Zambia U20 national team

The Zambia U2O national team, will on Monday evening kick off their campaign in the Senegal 2015 Orange African U20 championship.
There is a lot of hope is the Hector Chilombo coached side to emulate the class of 1999 and 2007 which reached the World Cup.

The building of the team started way back in 2012 when Zambia hosted the Zone VI championship in Lusaka and the Zambia U17 lads went up to the final where they lost to South Africa to mint Silver.

All the players in the team are also actively involved at their clubs and four have been capped at senior level with three of them having been part of the Chipolopolo team that competed at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations finals.

Zambianfootball.co.zm takes a look at how the team is likely to line-up tomorrow in the opening match against Mali and brief profiles on the players.

Mangani Banda (GK) – He will start in goal for Zambia. He has been a consistent performer in the U20 goal through the qualifiers conceding only one goal. A very steady goalkeeper with very good positioning and good at distributing the ball. The Zanaco goalie who was very much a third choice at the start of the season but grew in confidence to take over the number one spot towards the end of the season and was between the posts in Zanaco’s final match of the season against Red Arrows.
He has grown through the ranks and was vice captain for the 2012 Zone XI U17 team which won silver in Lusaka.

Peter Mulenga (RB) – One of the newest members of the team. His arrival almost coincided with the injury to club mate at Red Arrows Benedict Chepeshi and he quickly grabbed the right back position with both hands to put very good performances in the final three qualifiers. He not a tough tackler but very good timing on one-on-one situations. He is tactically very disciplined and always has a good cross in him despite him not often venturing too far in front.
He was registered by Red Arrows and he became a fixture at right back in the absence of Jimmy Chisenga who was injured. A very good prospect for the right back position for the senior team which has struggled for a consistent performer in that position.

Benedict Chepeshi (LB)– had made the right back position his own until the arrival Peter Mulenga at a time he was nursing an injury. That he was invited for trials in Portugal should be word enough of his quality.

Kayawe Kapota (CB) – Very good presence at the back and makes up for his central defence partner with some added pace in his legs. He is good in the air and not easily bullied off the ball. The boy has a never say attitude and will chase every ball even when it seems a lost cause. Now signed by Nkana.

Alex Mwamba (CB) – The lanky Power Dynamos defender has been the bedrock of the defence together with his partner Kapota. Very good in the air and hardly panics. He faithfully waited for his chance to play on the Power Dynamos bench through the season and eventually pushed his way into the starting line-up towards the end of the season.

Kelvin Chinyama (M) – Not the fans favourite but does the dirty work for the team. He has a good range pass and is able to dictate play from his holding position. He loves to stick his foot where the mess is and is not shy to throw in challenges.

Charles Zulu (M) – The Zanaco wide man is one of the players to watch in this team. He combines great skill on the ball and tremendous pace. Very consistent with the cross but remains very dangerous when he is in sight of goal. Capped at senior national team level last year, he also pushed his way up in the pecking order at Zanaco and made mostly substitute appearances but was given a few starts in the season. He was also member of the 2012 Zone VI team.

Lubambo Musonda (M) – Captain of the side and the star of the team. He loves to play wide and has a more direct approach to the game. Possesses a good long range shot in both legs and is not shy to take his chances. He goes into the tournament exuding lots of confidence having almost sealed a first team place in the senior Zambia national team in the qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations and playing in all three games at the Africa Cup of nations.

Spencer Sautu (M) – A typical box to box midfielder and an Isaac Chansa type of player. Tough on the ball and very hardworking in the middle of the park. He mainly came off the bench in the qualifiers and weighed in with some goals from midfield but with his experience with the senior team and the absence of Saith Sakala he is the likely starter to play in the hole in Hector Chilombo’s 4 5 1 formation. He is also from the U17 class of 2012.

Larry Bwalya (M) – Another late call up to the team but walked straight into the starting line-up during the qualifiers. He has a sweet left foot and his vision and ability to pick the striker will be key for Zambia in the midfield to help unlock opponent’s defences. He may not give much when tracking back but you are assured of a good shot from range as long as the ball sits kindly on his left. He was a key player in the Nchanga Rangers 2014 season and has now moved to Power Dynamos.

Patrick Ngoma (S) – ‘Dude’ as he is fondly called will be Zambia’s biggest threat going forward. He is an all-round ‘Rooney type’ striker who will drop in midfield to pick the ball, run wide to create the space and will hussle the defenders throughout the 90 minutes. He loves to run with the ball and to take on defenders. This tournament may be the break for him. Another from the U17 class of 2012

Substitutes:

Patson Daka (S) – Typical number nine. Patson paired with Patrick make the future strike partnership for Chipolopolo. Very agile striker who has a very good return on goals for chances given. He turns half a chance in a big opportunity. He has lots of pace, packs a great shot and is very good in the air. He will not fight for the ball for you in midfield, but loves to play on the shoulder of the defender and once you lay a good pass for him, you might as well start celebrating. He has been a consistent feature for Nchanga Rangers and is fresh from the CAF U17 tournament where he captained the team and scored 2 goals in three games.

Dave Daka (S) – The diminutive Zanaco striker was mainly used as substitute in the qualifiers. A very good bet when the other team is tiring as he makes up for his lack of height with pace.

Benson Sakala (M) – One of the two newest members of the team playing for Chicago Magic in the USA. He did not play in the qualifiers but stole the coach’s heart during the camp ahead of the tournament. Chilombo described the USA based holding midfielder as the new Nathan Sinkala for Zambia. ZamFoot has not had a chance to watch the lad.

Langson Mbewe (M) – Highly talented attacking midfielder capable of taking the bull by its horns. He captained the team during the Zone VI games in 2012 and was not only the crowd favourite but the star of the team.He has fallen down the pecking order and has not seen much action for the team but remains a key fall back in the attacking role.

Boyd Mkandawire (LB) – The Napsa Stars petit left back will remind you of John Soko. He played in all of the qualifiers and his side of defense was impenetrable. He has on and off days going forward but his biggest attribute is that he is not easily beaten to the ball. He has sealed a first team position at Napsa Stars where the U20 coach is the head coach. He was also part of the 2012 Zone VI U17 Silver medal winning side.

Simon Tembo (CB) – Strutting a neat afro, the kabwe Warriors centre back is a tough tackler and has mainly come off the bench for the U20 team. He has sometimes tucked into the defensive midfield role and his biggest attribute is his ability to intercept passes and break down opponents quick moves.
He was very consistent at Kabwe Warriors last season and the coaches rotated central defensive partners around him while he remained put.

Mweene Mumbi – Defender playing in Capetown South Africa.

Others: Goalkeepers; Geofrey Silavwe – Lawrence Tresford Mulenga

Coach: Hector Chilombo

He was initially appointed as assistant coach to George Lwandamina for the U20 team. He took charge of the team and guided the team to the finals with a 100% record winning all four games played in the qualifiers at home and away. The former defender has done well in ensuring that his team is solid at the back as they only conceded once away to Malawi scoring seven times in the four games played. Even his club Napsa Stars had the best defence in the Zambian league during the 2014 season only conceding 21 times in 30 games.
He has preferred the 4 – 5 – 1 formation for the team and will miss former Napsa Stars midfielder Saith Sakala who has since moved to Israel who had adapted well in the role of supporting attack from the midfield.

[By Chimuka Hampango]