Defending Champions Zambia face South Africa in the opening match of Group C of the CAF U17 African Cup of Nations | Cosafa Qualifiers in Harare on Friday afternoon.
Zambia have been to the last five finals of the COSAFA Under-17 Championships, winning three of those, including the last two.
They will therefore be going for a unique hat-trick this time round, with no side having claimed the regional title three editions in a row.
They are already the most successful side in the competition with four wins in all, one more than South Africa.
They are the defending champions having edged Angola 2-1 in the final last year, and South Africa 1-0 in the previous edition in 2022, which made up for the disappointment of back-to-back runners-up places in 2020 and 2021.
They were also winners in 2019 as they edged Mozambique 2-0 in the final, with their two recent victories both coming in Malawian soil.
Their other tournament win came in Mauritius in 2017, having had a long wait for their maiden title in this age-group.
The side has been to the continental finals three times before, but exited in the group stages on the first two occasions in 2015 and 2023, before earning a quarterfinal spot in 2025.
That has allowed them to qualify for the 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup that will be staged in Qatar later this year. It will be their first appearance at the global finals event.
Zambia U17
Last five tournament finishes:
2019 – Winners
2020 – Runners-up
2021 – Runners-up
2022 – Winners
2024 – Winners
One day i was hearing an interview where this sports reporter was interviewing chris kaunda when he wad doing well with nkhwazi. Chris told the reporter that he was a nobidy in this country , Today he has proved that indeed he is a nobody.