TotalEnergies AFCON U-20

Zambia aim to win Second U-20 AFCON crown

by
Kelvin Trudeau Musako
February 16, 2023

The Zambia Under-20 boys will be looking for another opportunity to get their hands on a second title at the Egypt 2023 U-20 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations which kicks off on Sunday.

The Zambians qualified from the COSAFA region having won the U-20 COSAFA regional tournament with a 1-0 victory over defending champions Mozambique.

Zambia come into this tournament with a reputation of grooming young talents for the future. The Zambians have produced players like Patson Daka, Enock Mwepu and Fashion Sakala who help the Young Copper Bullets win the U-20 title as hosts in 2017.

The Junior Chipolopolo will be certainly an exciting team to watch at this year’s tournament.

Players to watch

The goalkeeping department has Jeban Tembo, Levison Banda and Eric Makungu all yearning for a starting berths in Egypt.

Skipper Dominic Kanda will be key for Zambia in that midfield role. He is a pure defensive midfield specialist who thrives in shielding his defence while threading penetrative passes through the lines. He already possesses the strength to challenge attackers.

Upfront the options may lie in Kinsgton Mutandwa, Derrick Bulaya, Rickson Ng’ambi, Moses Mulenga and Henry Mbuti. Mutandwa was instrumental for the Junior Chipolopolo scoring the winning goal in the U-20 COSAFA final to give Zambia the win.

Head Coach

Chisi Mbewe comes with bags of experience having led the Zambia U-20 to the 2022 COSAFA title. He is also credited for leading his club Red Arrows to the League title in the 2021/2022 season.

Zambia will play in Group C alongside Benin, Gambia and Tunisia.