Midfielder Patrick Gondwe says Zambia is ready to open up their title defence of the COSAFA Men’s Under-20 championship against Namibia on Friday.

Gondwe says the Young Chipolopolo, who won the title on home soil last year, have what it takes to go all the way and win the competition.

The attacking midfielder who emerged Player of the Tournament and was rewarded with a trip to Spain for trials is eager to add to last year’s exploits for the country to achieve its number one status.

“We are very much ready as a team, we just pray for a good start, we are focused as a team and a win will be good for us,” he said.

“A win tomorrow will be vital for us to have more confidence going forward in the team. We want to continue where we left last year and defend the cup.”

“The fans have to just be behind us and have confidence in the team and we will deliver, ” he added.

The match against Namibia will be played at Wolfson stadium in Port Elizabeth and will kick-off at 15:30hours.

They will go on to face Comoros on Monday and will wrap up their Group B engagements with a fixture against Malawi two days later.

The two finalists at this year’s tournament will qualify to the 2021 Mauritania Under-20 Africa Cup where the top four finishers will earn a place each at the junior World Cup slated for Indonesia from May 20-June 12, 2021.