Zambia U17 coach Dennis Makinka praised his boys following their display against Brazil at the on going FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar.
Brazil survived a scare as they came from behind to force a 1-1 draw against a spirited Zambia side.
“I give them credit for the hard work. I mean, today the boys fought like I have never seen before,” Makinka said in a post match interview.
The four-time champions pushed for an equaliser, but Dennis Makinka’s charges remained resolute in defence, frustrating the South Americans.
“I think this was a very big game, and just a few minutes’ lapse in concentration.
“We conceded that equaliser, but I thought we could have done better.
“We saw how they played. We planned on defending from crosses. “I think we just slept a bit, and we allowed them to come back,” he added
“Kudos to the boys, they have really done us proud today.
“I think today even ball movement was better than all the games that we’ve played.
“We just need to improve. The goodness with the boys is that they are improving with every game that passes.
Zambia beat Indonesia and Honduras but it is the draw against Brazil that has caught Makinka’s attention.
“If you see the way we played the first game, the way we played the second game, and the way we played today, I think the boys are really putting in their best.
“They are doing all they can to win games.”
“Our target has always been to go as far as we can go. We are not limiting ourselves. Every game that we come across, we just have to take it seriously and just play our lungs out and try to win the game.
“So our target is to go as far as we can.”
Give this technical BENCH and COACH the senior team responsibility. If not maintain them for the U17 and U20 teams for the next 5 years.