By KALUMIANA KALUMIANA –

THE Zambia Under-17 soccer team this afternoon face a tougher test when they take on free scoring Uganda in a Niger 2015 CAF Africa Junior Championship third round, first leg qualifier at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
Chris Kaunda’s side faces its toughest test to date heading into the final qualifying hurdle for qualification to the next February’s tournament in Niger.
Uganda head into the first leg with four out of four wins after breezing through the last two rounds with home and away wins over the Seychelles and Rwanda in the first and second rounds respectively.
Zambia on the other hand enjoyed a preliminary round bye and entered the competition in the second round where they eliminated Botswana 6-0 on aggregate while Uganda thrashed Seychelles 7-1.
Kaunda in an interview yesterday said they will respect Uganda but that Junior Chipolopolo was on a mission.
“We have come from very far to get to this stage. The morale in the team is very high and we are very focused on winning this match,” Kaunda said.
However, Kaunda is sweating on the fitness of striker Patson Daka including Enock Mwepu who has two goals in the qualifiers and both players were due for late fitness tests.
Meanwhile, Uganda coach Matia Lule said his side is not in Lusaka to hand Zambia the advantage.
“We are going to make sure we score some goals to make our work easier in the return leg,” said Lule.
The return leg is set for September 27 in Kampala with the winner after the two legs qualifying to next year’s finals in Niger that will be held from February 15 to March 1. Zambia has never qualified to the CAF Under-17 Cup.