South Africa will join Zambia as the two countries that will represent the Cosafa region at the Senegal 2015 CAF U23 Championship.
Zambia overcame the Ivory Coast via a 4 – 3 penalty shootout win while South Africa overcame Zimbabwe 4 – 1.
The two again represented the region at the U17 and U20 tournaments earlier in the year.
They will be joined by hosts Senegal, Nigeria, Mali, Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria at the tournament which will run from 28 November to 12 December.
At the tournament, the eight teams will be placed in two groups of four where the top two teams will qualify to the semi-finals.
The top three teams will represent Africa at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the fourth placed team facing an Asian side in a playoff.
Guys this is tough. Very serious preparation is needed. A lethal striker has to be found quickly. The team needs to beefed up with professionals such as lubambo musonda, evans Kangwa etc. Faz has to do a real search of players around the world that can represent us. We need to take a very strong team to this championship competition will be tight. I know there is ndumba makeche in Malaysia another boy in Czech Republic and a few in other european countries as well as the US. Let faz assess everyone in friendlies let’s carry a solid team competition for the rio olympics will be tight.
who is this ndumba macheke boy what team is representing.
Tough indeed. I wonder why preparing for such games usually turns out to be like it is a difficult thing to do. The worst thing to do is to wait for the right time. This trend is so wrong considering the fact that should you fall behind the very time you had waited for it (time) will never wait for you. I never believe in recovering after loosing precious time because its dent is irreversible, which suggests and possibly implies that recovering is imaginary in this situation. In essence preparing for such games must be considered to have started from the time before the team played the qualifiers. Qualifiers have also served their purpose in readying the team for the final hurdle. A break after qualifying may be an indicator of how badly prepared the nation is if at all it does not serve as a breath. There has to be a valid reason for break otherwise consider it one those pit falls that are a serious hindrance of performance. Weigh yourself on this scale Zambia!
To me, on paper Zambia is the weakest team at this tournament, looking at the teams that have qualified. Lubambo Musonda, Mbola and Evans Kangwa needs to be called for this tournament to reinforce the squad. The striking force is weak for this team, just as it is for the national team. Preparations are needed.
Very unfair!!!!!!! Zambia qualified ahead of CIV…while Egypt beat Uganda and South Africa beat Zimbabwe; non entities in African football…we beat a power house to qualify with ten men away at one point, we are strong and should be respected and feared! Where is Ghana or Cameroon??!
Don’t live in denial, and just face the facts. Just as it was with the U17, U20 and the senior team in the last respective tournaments, so shall it be even in the U23 tournament, if no serious preparations are in place. The problem with you is you want “ukuyumfwisha bwino”. We have to learn from the past and take remedial actions of preparing the boys. Otherwise it will be another early elimination. If you look at the history of Zambian teams, they don’t struggle to qualify to these tournaments. Also, they don’t struggle to be eliminated in the first round.
Billy, walasa kwena. This is not the time to talk big like those boxers who go on to get knocked out in round one. Now id the time to prepare period. Zambia’s only AFCON success came off the back of 5 international friendlies, being one of the first teams to arrive at the venue/host nation, and camping that started 2 months prior to the beginning of AFCON. It looks like people have forgotten all of this information and have now settled with camping in South Africa and playing friendlies against 2nd division teams.
Zambia looks like the weakest team in this tournament. Preparations are needed, otherwise there will be baptism of fire. I am not sure if this tournament is a FIFA sanctioned one, we need to call all eligible professionals like Lubambo, Kangwa, Mbola, etc.
@ billy I agree with u zambia is the weakest on paper. Our under 23 needs serious reinforcing. The strongest teams are Mali, Nigeria and Egypt. Those 3 are the favorites. Senegal has advantage being a host.
I will say it again, we beat a strong side with proven young professions..we are not weak, we a team to be reckoned with! We shall prepare well and will not lie down during the tournment!
@Prince, the point is we all want our team to succeed. That is given, but recent history has it that, our boys have struggled and have been eliminated in the first round, and we fear it may happen again if no serious preparation is done. Thats the point.
WE NEED STIKERS. OUR TEAM WILL BE THE STRONGEST BOTH ON PAPER AND GROUND IF WE IDENTIFY ATLEAST 2 LEATHAL STRIKERS.
Leathal? Lol!
What is that? Leathal striker? Heheee!!
Dumb ass MORON!! Copycat!!
Leathal n am not surprised u have no CLASSMATE heheee
Can’t believe you guys are tag4ng ur team as the weakest team in this competition. How?
Zambia defeated one of the best footballing nation in Africa(yes it was on penalty but defeat is stil defeat). Remember the Ivorians are the Afcon champions(U23 are not that far from senior national team). Zambia is obviously a strong side too at least defensively the team is wrong, they don’t concede that much. The major problem facing ur team is the attack.
Zambia defeated a strong team while countries like Egypt and SA defeated weak teams. Yes Uganda and Zimbabwe are not strong teams in the U23 category.
My Nigerian boys can’t wait to go, we missed the 2012 olympics we can’t miss this one.
**defensively the team is strong
i just wounder for these zambians beating ivory coast and u guys ar here lambasting ur team that it th weakest lol
The Naija colleagues know what they were talking about. This team has mostly U20 players with the entire defense being U20. Its not that weak!
We just need to replace Friday Samu and Sate Sate upfront.
On the field and on paper are two different things. On paper yes we have a rather weak squad when you compare players head to head but in reality we have the capacity to hold our own like we have just done with I.C. Even in 2012 we were never favourites because head to head teams like Ghana, Senegal and IC were above us but on the ground we beat them all.
We need to go to the Olympics and get a proper agent with some serious marketing and negotiation skills to assist with getting our lads into Europe.
The problem with ZAMBIAN soccer is not the players but the AGENTS. The agents in their quest for quick returns dump the players anywhere. FAZ should streamline the player-agent relationship to ensure that there is an oversight so that these young boys are given all the professional attention for their immense talents. Players like Chris Katongo could have played in the EPL but what’re was he? PEOPLE should rise up against these opportunistic agents.
Zambia had a game plain, we worked hard and playing two games un defeated we are the best among the best!
With that line up of those qualified, yes our team is the weakest. But again this is football its never won on paper and you never know how motivated the other team is until you play them.
Our problem is failure to score and that problem folks can not disappear on its own or heaping it on the FA. The problem is our local league coaches failure to instill confidence in their players and letting them shine out. Ati alatumpa umwaiche. So they sub, bench, and all but keep them on a leash.
How many goals have been scored by our players in the local league and worse off by the so called professionals, since 2013? Tell me you are the bloody reporter!
The thing now is we have to pick all available strikers and try to mold them in friendly games. If we can have at least 4 international friendlies with North and West African teams, that will be good preparations in between let the team go abroad for fine tuning.
Nigeria and mali are favourites bt anythn z possible in a game of football. I jst hop this tym around wil make it to brazil. Wishin the young chipolopolo the best of luck
We should also be proud that we can be a part of such an illustrious and serious line up as this (Algeria, Egypt, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Zambia). Remember others such as Ghana, Cameroon, Morocco, Ivory Coast, are such heavyweights out of the running. So every team that has qualified deserves it and MUST be respected.
The key now is preparations. For once FAZ let us change the way we do things. This is the future chipolopolo and how they perform at the games determines the confidence they will have going forward.
Mali is the strongest team after what I saw their under 20’s do in new Zealand and the fact that they won the caf under 17.zambia must avoid Mali in the group draw. Nigeria is second favorite then Egypt is third with a number of classy players in europe.
WE HAVE MASSIVE TALENT BUT THE ONLY PROBLEM WE ARE FACING IS THAT WE DONT UTILISE OUR CHANCES .
Zambia will feel confident after putting out the ivorians… But zambia isnt ticking, why no goals..?
Our squad is built around players who have how many international caps under their belt??? Allot!!!
I bet no other team has players that have that many full international caps. But the problem here is to turn that experience those players have, and turn the whole team into a well oiled machine. The team must have chemistry, understanding and togetherness….
We must also do our homework and know these other teams…
Here we go again big names, Zambia weakest team etc. Was Zambia given a free passage to the finals? The answer is NO. The boys fought for this and as such deserve to be at the finals .So what is all this about weak and big teams. All the teams are at the same level, it is a question of who plans and prepares well, that is all
As for now I will wait until our our opponents are known. And for me it does not matter who these are going to be, to qualify for the Olympics you have to navigate past the best and that is the truth
Gents mwa yamba ku njenja before even knowing our group opponents. I hope the coach and players do not feel the same way. Umwenso ni fwa
Here we go again big names, Zambia weakest team etc. Was Zambia given a free passage to the finals? The answer is NO. The boys fought for this and as such deserve to be at the finals .So what is all this about weak and big teams. All the teams are at the same level, it is a question of who plans and prepares well, that is all
As for now I will wait until our our opponents are known. And for me it does not matter who these are going to be, to qualify for the Olympics you have to navigate past the best and that is the truth
Gents mwa yamba ku njenja before even knowing our group opponents. I hope the coach and players do not feel the same way. Umwenso ni fwa
I love this and I am sure we shall enjoy
At last a real Person, real African with real confidence! If our players were thinking along these line We could have qualified for the world cup long time ago!!!!!! I remember Kalu as a player was one of the best free-kick takers in world but in Zambia it was just tale (akashimi). The moment We stop fearing Europe then our soccer will go further. I have been in South Africa for more than a decade and all I have witnessed is black people who make it must see themselves on the same level with white people. What we have now are the results of the William Lynch Letter, the making of a slave including the results of Colonialism. Colonialism was not done to milk Africa out of its wealth but to create an African(Black Person) who will not bubble out with confidence no matter how good He may be. All We need for our Players are excellent life Coaches who will drill our Players out of inferiority complex. Look at Bafana Bafana and the way they carry themselves even Brasil. Zambia is full of talent better than Bafana Bafana but our players are not confident.
Now that is how to say it!
@Zamfoot when is the CECAFA Cup? If it is at the beginning of November 2015, then let FAZ send the under 23, so that they can use the games as preparations. We all know FAZ may not manage friendly matches
The last 2 weeks of camping should either in a country near Senegal and not SA. Traveling arrangements should be in by the end of August 2015. GS ku FAZ get this under way
Very good observation. All travel logistics must be attended to avoid the usual poor arrangements by FAZ.
I will go back to my earlier point: FAZ SHOULD ensure that the agents for these talented boys don’t dump them in Azerbajan, Afghanistan, North Korea Malaysia Singapore etc . Some of these boys are bound for higher grounds of the agents behave professionally.
If the agents ………
My posts have not been edited. Got to bounce now
the boastful Nigerian Bodosqi is right. we defeated a powerhouse in Africa and our defense has grown to be strong. y then r we putting ourselves as the weakest. lets turn away from this negative attitude we have against our team.
I believe we will pull thru & qualify to the Olympics.
And u want to qualify to the Olympics and DO WHAT!
by the way, were is Ghana? I cant see them among the teams that have qualified.
We are preparing for the 2018 World Cup (hope to see you there for the first time) so we have provided you an opportunity to get to the olympics
I still feel on paper we are the weakest. Zambia always beats ivory Coast. In 2009 we beat them 3-0 in the chan in front of their fans. In 1994 at the afcon we beat them and in 2012 we took the afcon title for them. Beating the elephants means nothing to me. The Arabs Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria have been a nightmare for us. Nigeria has been impossible to beat at all levels and in recent times Mali has been a thorn. Senegal is weak but because they are hosting we will struggle to beat them if we meet. The only team zambia can beat there is sa. If we don’t bulk up our squad with professionals and find potent strikers we risk being disgraced. The best under 23 player we have is lubambo musonda in my opinion. He must play in this cup without fail.
Hmm Ba John says Senegal is a weak team. But how did the weak Senegal U20 manage to reach world cup semifinals in June 2015 ?
Just asking
Yeah, John is over thinking, we have enough issues lets just focus on playing 3 teams instead of 8…. Senegal reached the knock out stages of the last olympics from a group that included luis saurez Uruguay and Great Britain.
John again.
Zambia just needs to focus on the team, preps, there should not disruption and confusion about who is playing and who is going to make it and who is not. All this confusion will destabilise the development.
Preps, making competitive warm up matches. Having solid travel arrangements and training time.
Not silly conversations about who Zambia can beat who they cant.
Whats the official age of Sinkala of TP Mazembe. What about KAbaso Chongo??
The Arabs ll eat Zambia for dinner!
They will be fasting during that time my brada
Its do or die 4 zambia
As 4 me zambia is 1 of the strngest timz we ar just lacking a good coach
@Paradox Ghana didn’t qualify.
Is there really a weak team among the 8 nations going to Senegal? HELL NO
Senegal reached the semi-final of the just concluded U20 world ahead of Africa’s two top teams(team Nigeria and team ghana). I am sure they will inject some of their U20 boys to their U23 team.
This tournament will be an tough, intense but interesting tournament. We have 3 regions competiting in the tournament(the 3 best futballing regions in Africa). 3 teams 4rm North, 2 teams 4rm Souh and 3 teams 4rm West Africa. This won’t be like the U20 and U17 tournaments dominated by west African teams.
good thing for Zambia is that most players r also part of the Chan team. so they r exposed. Mali at junior level have caused Zambia a big problem its only at senior level were we know how to handle them.. am weary of the Arabs and Nigeria. we need to up our game for real
Yes and in addition 99% are local meaning that we can camp for 2 months if we wish. Pros are released 5 days before international games /tournaments. We can set camp in mid October if we want with almost all the players around
@john. musonda alone will not bring the required strength in the team. we need to look out for more players especially in the strike force
Monitor the players every time the play. I hope Fighton won’t be foolish enough to pick players purely because they’re playing outside the country. Local or professional – every player must earn his place in the squad. Only players in form should be picked. What wins you a match is ithe performance levels of those selected and not necessarily the number of professionals you have in the team. Ivory Coast had many professionals last weekend against Zambia. We all know what happened. As others have already said, serious preps between now and November will be key to how far we go in the tournament. How many times have we seen so called “underdogs” out fox the so called “favourites?”
Our defense is solid, coz even nigeria failed to break us down in Abuja, our main source of concern is th striking force. Th strikers are not chosen on merit, fashion sakala and conlyde luchanga alone hv scored more goals than th entire U23 striking force in domestic football. If we ar to qualify to Rio 2016, th technical bench shuld select performing strikers who score nd are regulars at their clubs.
in Abuja we packed the bus but back home we opened up and Nigeria slaughtered us.
The other thing FAZ has to stop is the tendency to have a full time club coach doubling as U-23 coach. Firstly, his club needs him week in week out and secondly when does he have time to monitor players across the nation? This set up is counter productive.
You are right on this one Paddy, but the problem is that if FAZ employed a full time local coach for our Junior teams the following will happen
1. FAZ will not pay the coach as we have already seen at senior level
2. The local coach will not be given a contract
3. FAZ will be interfering in team selection
I have got your point, but with the FAZ we have it is difficult. It is for this reason that I have confidence in our u/23. If one looks at the circumstances under which the boys have been training and playing, it is just to say congrats boys job well done
I really wish Charles musonda’s kids could play for zambia. This would have been the perfect tournament for them to launch their international careers and qualify zambia to the rio olympics and later the world cup in Russia.
Their career is launched already john. To have 2 giants of english football to fight for your signature. Which Zambian is or has been in that position?
If you consider Zambia U23 to be the weakest side among those that have qualified I bet there is something wrong with the comparison that made you to arrive at that unfortunate label. The Zambia you consider the weakest eliminated CIV. Does it imply that CIV would have been the weakest side had they qualified? If CIV is considered very strong save for their elimination why couldn’t they score against the weakest side? Zambia has not played against the other sides that qualified in a long time save for Nigeria and the result against the Nigerians does not depict that Zambia as a weak side either. Of course other sides qualified with points and goals they scored within the 180 minutes of open play affairs of both encounters but then remember that AFCON title Zambia bagged. It was won by beating sides that had prolific finishers in their line ups. Just talk about the need to sharpen up the front line and strengthening the team where possible other than condemning the side as the weakest.
Zambia they have potential of building one of the strongest under 23 team if they call up all professionals . This tournament wil be played on right time all professional leagues will be on break..
Guys are failing to heed the warning been sent out by those who are saying Zambia is the weakest side in this tournament. Truth of the matter is Zambia is coming into this tournament the least favored to succeed.
Bottom line is, Zambia has to prepare for this tournament. Without the right preparation, confidence means nothing. Confidence will not win you trophies nor qualify you to the Olympics. Strategy, planning, and practice will be the only thing that will make me see this Zambia team with the eyes that say success.
One good preparatory match would be against the senior team and then afterwards go play some friendliest away from home. TP Mazembe would give our boys a good run snd then camp in a country with similar weather condition as Senegal.
Evans Kangwa ,Lubambo Musonda and Mbola will play an integral part But we need that cohesion to see Brazil……We hope FAZ has a tangible plan to enable our boys qualify to the Olympics .Every Zambian soccer fan would like to forget in a hurry, the 2013/14 soccer calendar that Took our football to the gutters.
PROPER PREPRATIONS WILL SEE ZAMBIA TAKE A SPOT!
correction…….after a duel with the senior team,let the boys play a quality away match eg TPM as these kind only toughens them for the battles ahead. I am sure Moise Katumbi would oblige as his team is in the running for the Champions league.
This team is strong and needs the reinforcement , striking apart from sate sate is weak because in our local league the top strikers are not included in this team, one wonders the criteria used. If we can call Spenser Sautu, and hoping Mubanga’s injury is not deep then we are set. Lubambo is a must, . The question is can strikers score without clinical attacking mid? I rest my case.
WHO ELIMINATED GHANA?
congo chucked out Ghana. who themselves got beaten by nigeria
The detractors are back to it again & we will squarely meet them. This is d chance for ZAMBIA to develop a team for the 2022 World Cup. The 2018 is a no go for ZAMBIA. The West Africans will once again dominate. Even they dominate at the Olympics . COSAFA is training grounds for the MUNDIAL. Better be lucky at the Olympics that these talented boys are not awarded contracts to Afghanistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan etc etc etc
This is your world cup, enjoy it as 2018 is out of raach
Welcome back Mumbi
Welcome back to team up with paradox. Where were you? Trying to gather some analytical skills like Positive Thinking?
Martin Phiri from Power Dynamos has evolved into an exciting striker that is strong, has vision, fast and with football brains to work very well alongside the likes of Sate Sate, Evans Kanga, Lubambo Musonda, Spencer Sautu for the under 23 team. As anyone that watches Power, they will attest to this.
CAN YOU ANNOUNCE THE CHIPOLOPOLO COACH
@Mumbi: In your absence, Paradox wtias offering some insightful ideas (for the first time). Now reverting to the foolhardiness. YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE LEOPARD’S SKIN. Mumbi is a good role model for Paradox. Birds of the same feathers. What a combination of backward looking individuals, with poor education trying to be like DR Rok, Positive Thinking Judge Joe Biden etc. Impossible to be like them ever.
Let us look for strikers before we go to Senegal.
John with his obsession for European players.