|By Angela Bambala Bwalya
After Zambia’s narrow 1-0 loss to Zimbabwe in Thursday’s Mukuru 4-Nations final, head coach Oswald Mutapa chose to focus less on the result and more on what he believes truly matters — the character and mentality his young squad displayed under pressure.
Despite conceding late in the game, Mutapa spoke with pride about his players’ resilience and discipline against a more experienced Zimbabwean side.
“A tough game. For me, it’s the character and the mentality the boys showed,” Mutapa said.
“Yes, we’ve lost at the end of it all, and experience showed in the dying minutes. But we are happy with the way the boys performed. The result wasn’t good, but the performance and character the boys showed proves we really have a team for the future.”
Zambia’s approach was built on intensity and tactical discipline. Having studied Zimbabwe’s previous match, the technical bench identified the need to disrupt their rhythm — and the players executed that plan with determination.
“We analyzed their game against Botswana and understood how they play,” Mutapa explained.
“Against an experienced side, if you give them space and time, they will punish you. But if you look at our game, we didn’t allow them that freedom to pick passes that could hurt us.”
That relentless pressing and refusal to let Zimbabwe settle highlighted a growing mental toughness within the squad — something Mutapa believes is just as important as technical ability.
“We played with full intensity. We knew if we matched their rhythm, we would struggle. Not giving them time on the ball worked to our advantage. These are young players, and moments like this — creating chances and not scoring — are part of the learning process.”
The decisive moment came late, when Zindonga Junior’s cross deflected off Kafuti Saisande in the 88th minute to hand Zimbabwe the victory — a cruel ending to an otherwise disciplined performance.
Still, Mutapa remains firmly focused on the bigger picture: building a competitive, mentally strong group for the future, particularly with the Olympics and senior national team in mind.
“We are building towards Vision 2030,” he said. “This is a team for the Olympics, and some of these players have shown they can step up to Chipolopolo. You could see the hunger — and that’s what we want going forward.”
He pointed to Zambia’s historic AFCON success as proof that patience and continuity pay off.
“We’ve done this before. The team that won the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations had players who grew together from youth level. It’s about progression — keeping those who perform and refreshing where necessary.”
Mutapa also acknowledged the role of sponsorship in nurturing such talent, calling for increased investment across all levels of the game.
“Kudos to Mukuru for supporting this tournament. But development shouldn’t stop at the senior level — we need backing for U-17 and U-20 football as well. More corporate partners coming on board will help grow the game in the region.”
