The Zambia U17 National team will play their first ever match at the FIFA U17 World Cup this afternoon when they take on Indonesia. After hosting the 19th edition of the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2023, this is the first time Indonesia have qualified for this age group’s global stage from the Asian zone. The young “Tim Garuda” made their FIFA U17 World Cup by virtue of hosting the 2023 tournament during which they gave a good account of themselves. Two 1-1 draws against South and Central American oppositions Ecuador and Panama respectively was followed by a 3-1 defeat to Morocco who went on to reach the quarterfinals. Zambia also qualified for the FIFA U17 World Cup for the first time ever. Victories over Tanzania (4-1) and Uganda (2-1) along with a goalless draw propelled them to the quarterfinal stage of the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations. As all last eight nations would advance to the FIFA U17 World Cup, Zambia celebrated their qualification on 6th April 2015 when they overcame Uganda in their last Group A fixture in Casablanca, Morocco. Head Coach Dennis Makinka says his side have a plan despite this being their first appearance at the global showpiece at this stage. “Coming into this World Cup, as Zambia’s first-timers and Indonesia have already participated in the tournament before, it’s quite a big challenge. They’ve tested the waters, and this will be our first time. So, of course, we have a plan. We’ve watched them play in the qualifiers as well. So, the game plan that we have, of course, is to see how they will come at us, and then we’ll decide from there,” he said. “Yeah, you know, friendlies, you never know what they were looking for. Maybe they were not looking for results. It’s something else that they looked for. But all in all, our preparation was good. The friendlies, we saw what we wanted to see in the friendlies. And I think that will push us more psychologically, knowing that about 90% of what we’ve been planning and working on is working. Obviously, when you’re attacking, you are always vulnerable in defense. So we’ve been working on that so that we balance. Even as we attack, we are also wary of the defense,” he added. Makinka says he is happy with the improvement in defensive set up. He says his side was very bad defensively but have now improved. “I think we are happy with the way we’ve defended. We were so bad at our defensive organization, especially the friendlies that we played back home. We scored a lot of goals and we allowed so many. But since we came here, we have worked on the defense. I think the first game we played Mexico, we allowed one goal and scored three. The last game that we played against New Caledonia. We did very well at the back. We didn’t allow any goal. I think even just shots on target for Caledonia, they were so limited. So I’m simply happy with our defensive organization,” he said. “Because we have a few knocks, about two or three. We are still monitoring them. We’ll make that decision after this session. But I think… Yeah, when you are working on something, you stick to it so that you see whether they are jellying. As it stands, I think the way we’ve been playing in the friendlies, especially the last two, we are trying to be consistent with the starting line-up, but we still have two or three knocks that we have a bit of a doubt about,’ he added. To the fans he urged them to keep pushing and supporting the team as they are the 12th player. “Zambian fans, we love you. We’ve seen so many messages that you are sending, the positive ones and the negative ones. Of course, for someone to grow, you need to accept criticism. Of course, there is criticism, and some are just praises all over. And I thank all the Zambians for, you know, pushing the boys. The boys are really happy because they are getting all the messages. We just say continue being behind us. You are the 12th player, and we’ll make you proud,” he said. Between the sticks Rogers Simunba will battle for a place with Christo Chitambala and Wiseman Nkumbu. Sporting Lusaka utility player James Neene Sibeene is expected to be joined by Levison Banda, Andrew Mwape, and Jonathan Kalimina in the back four. Bongani Ndhlovu and Chimwemwe Nkotami are among those available for selection in midfield. Kelvin Chipelu and Robert ‘Sugar Sugar’ Banda are eying a starting berth on the right wing with Nthasi Malupande also available for selection. Felix Phiri and Mapalo Simute are expected to be the architects of the Zambian tempo and overall game in terms of creativity to provide opportunities for Abel Salim Nyirongo upfront. Spain-based midfielder Lukonde Mwale and Steven Lungu are also able to provide that creative spark Zambia needs to get a win over Indonesia. Daniel Silubonde and Nkwazi talisman Billy Daka are also ready to step in if required. The match kicks off at 18:45 local time (17:45 Zambian time) on Pitch 7, one of the natural turf fields at the Aspire Zone in Doha.
The Zambia U17 National team has qualified for the knock out stage of the ongoing 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup following a 5-2 win over Honduras. The debutantes started the match like a house on fire and were 1-0 up five minutes into the match, Kelvin Chipelu with the opener heading in a Jonathan Kalimina cross from close range. Felix Phiri doubled the lead from a team goal with a fine close range finish after being perfectly set up by Mapalo Simute. It was all Zambia with very little from Honduras. The COSAFA giants made their dominance count as Sporting Lusaka captain James Sibeene made it 3-0 with a powerful header off a Kalimina corner. Four minutes later however Yeison Arriola pulled one back after a mix up at the back as the match went to the break with Zambia in the driving seat, 3-1. Honduras came back from the second half rejuvenated and reduced the deficit to just a goal nine minutes in, David Ramirez with a free header inside the area to make it 3-2. Makinka made changes and one of them paid off shortly as Billy Daka headed in from close range to make it 4-2 after the goalkeeper and the defense failed to deal with the initial shot in the 72nd minute. The Honduras technical bench called on the Video Assistance Review but the goal stood. Abel Salim Nyirongo sealed the win with his 3rd goal of the tournament two minutes to time with a brilliant strike inside the area. With the 5-2 win, Dennis Makinka’s boys are through to the last 32 ahead of their final group game against Brazil set for Monday afternoon. Full Time Zambia 5-2 Honduras (Kelvin Chipelu 5′, Felix Phiri, James Sibeene 40′, Bill Daka 72’, Abel Salim Nyirongo 88’| Yeison Arriola 44′, Davis Ramirez 54’)
The Zambia U17 National team will be aiming to make their FIFA U-17 World Cup debut even more memorable with a win over Honduras set to guarantee them a place in the knock out stage. The Young Chipolopolo had a FIFA U17 World Cup debut to remember as they came from behind to beat Indonesia 3-1 thanks to a brace from Abel Salim Nyirongo. Honduras on their other hand were overwhelmed by Brazil in their opening game, 7-0 and will be determined to make amends. Coach Dennis Makinka is anticipating a tough encounter against Honduras who need a win to keep their progression hopes alive. “It’s a difficult game, of course, you know, they are coming from a loss. A team that is coming from a loss is very dangerous because, you know when you lose, you realize the many mistakes that you make and correcting them is easy,” he said. Between the sticks Christo Chitambala is expected to continue after his heroics against Indonesia ahead of Rogers Simumba and Wiseman Nkumbu. Sporting Lusaka utility player James Neene Sibeene is expected to be joined by Levison Banda, Andrew Mwape, and Jonathan Kalimina in the back four. Coach Dennis Makinka seems to have faith in Kalimina, Sibeene, Mwape and Banda as his back four. Bongani Ndhlovu and Chimwemwe Nkotami are among those available for selection in midfield.Kelvin Chipelu is likely to start on the wing ahead of Robert ‘Sugar Sugar’ Banda who is eying a starting berth with Nthasi Malupande also available for selection. Felix Phiri and Mapalo Simute are expected to be the architects of the Zambian tempo and overall game in terms of creativity to provide opportunities for Abel Salim Nyirongo upfront. Spain-based midfielder Lukonde Mwale and Steven Lungu are also able to provide that creative spark Zambia needs to get a win over Indonesia. Daniel Silubonde and Nkwazi talisman Billy Daka are also ready to step in if required. The match kicks off at 18:45 local time (17:45 Zambian time) on Pitch 7, one of the natural turf fields at the Aspire Zone in Doha.
NAPSA Stars head coach Sipho Mumbi is expecting a tough game when his side visits Kabwe on Saturday to take on FC Leopards. The Kabwe based outfit are 15th on the log with 6 points and still searching for their first win of the season. Mumbi is not however under any illusion of having it easy in Kabwe despite his side coming from an impressive 1-0 win over ZESCO United. “Yeah, I think it’s going to be a very tough game. FC Leopards haven’t won any games. So we have been psyching the players the whole of this week. And, you know, we shouldn’t get carried away with a win against ZESCO United. We’ll try by all means, to make sure that we keep our ten toes on the ground and be humble and play the game to win,” Mumbi said. “It’s a very big challenge. They’ve got an experienced coach with experienced players. I feel and think they are preparing for this game and they know where we are coming from. It’s all going to be about us, how we are going to approach this game. Are we that team that is going to over-celebrate from last week’s victory? Or are we that team who is looking forward to collecting maximum points? I believe the boys and the technical bench will want to collect maximum points and make sure that the consistency continues,” he added. Winger Kenneth Kasanga has recovered from an injury while Teddy Khumalo continues his journey to full fitness. Mumbi feels he has a set of players who mentally ready for the challenge. “Yeah, I think two weeks ago we had injuries to Kenneth Kasanga and Teddy Kumalo. For Kasanga, he has fully recovered, and for Teddy, he’s slowly recovering, and hopefully next week he’s going to be ready for the challenge,” he said. “So far so good like always and we’ve got a set of players who are mentally ready, who are mentally good. So I think with a win like you said last week, I think it’s a very big plus. We’re hoping to go to Kabwe and win.” FC Leopards will host NAPSA Stars on Saturday at 15h00 at President Stadium in a week eleven MTN Super League encounter.
