By GWEN CHIPASULA –
THE all-conquering Zambia today goes head-to-head with Namibia, looking to get a spot in the final of the Council for Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) under-17 championship in Mauritius.
Zambia coach Oswald Mutapa junior has said his lads are more than charged for the encounter and that the boys want to retain the regional title.
He said the team had started the race so well that they have refused to come back home without the winners’ trophy.
To secure a semi-final slot, the young Chipolopolo who were drawn in Group B, started by beating Kenya 4-0 in the first match and then added Malawi to the scalp with a 3-0 bashing before concluding the group with a 3-0 win over Madagascar.
No doubt the team has had a good run so far with coach Mutapa saying he has confidence that his charges will win and qualify to the final.
“The team is focused and so far, the games have gone well. I am confident we shall get to the final but you know this is football, we need to expect anything,” Mutapa said.
And Namibia, who were drawn in Group A, beat Mauritius 3-1 in their first match, lost 4-0 to South Africa and beat Seychelles 4-1 in their last group stage match.
But Mutapa has stressed that Namibia will not be underrated despite Zambia having a better run in the competition so far.
The two countries are probably familiar with each other and their senior teams that met in the COSAFA senior challenge both booked a place in the plate finals where Zambia lost 1-0 to Namibia who hosted the tournament in June this year.
Other teams that qualified to the semi-finals at the competition are South Africa and Malawi.