By GWEN CHIPASULA –

ZAMBIA Under-20 soccer team coach Hector Chilombo says a win over Mali in the opening Group B match at the Senegal 2015 Africa Youth Championship will give his team confidence to go far in the tournament.
Chilombo, who is expected to name his final squad today ahead of departure on Saturday for Senegal, said the players have been told to win the opening match as that will give them an insight as to how far they will go in the tournament.
He said many teams that win their opening matches usually progress to the next round and was hoping his side follows suit.
“The first game is very important to win because it always shows a direction of any team and that is what we are advising our players right now. We have intensified our training and the joining of the foreign based players has lifted morale in camp,” he said.
Zambia is in Group B along with regional nemesis South Africa, Mali and Ghana while Group A has Congo Brazzaville, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and hosts Senegal.
The team will kick start the campaign with a clash against Mali at the Caroline Faye Stadium in Dakar on March 9, before playing Ghana three days later and will wound up with a tie against South Africa.
Meanwhile, Chilombo said the friendly match against Senegal set for Dakar on March 4 will greatly help shape up his squad ahead of the tournament.
He said he was expecting to have a full house by today when he names his final squad when foreign based players and those from Red Arrows players, who went with the team for pre-season training in Tanzania, join camp.
The Arrows players are striker Patrick Ngoma, midfielder George Mandu and defenders Peter Mulenga and Bernard Chepeshi while the foreign based players are captain Lubambo Musonda and Saith Sakala.