Junior Chipolopolo qualify for COSAFA U17 semfinals

Striker Joseph Sabobo Banda scored the winner in the 87th minute in game played on a rain-soaked artificial pitch in Maseru to take his tally to three goals.

Zambia wrapped up their three-team Group A on a maximum 6 points and the win came four days after they beat host Lesotho 2-0.

“Credit goes to the boys, I think they fought hard. Not an easy surface to play on but they managed to play. They tried to play the ball sometimes but the conditions were not in our favour,” Zambia U17 coach George Chilufya said.

“But again, we played against a very organized team in Eswatini and they gave us a good run for our money.”

Junior Chipolopolo will in the  December 7 semifinals face runner-up from Group  B  that will be decided on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Zambia’s compatriots Shepolopolo U17’s final round-robin stage COSAFA U17 Women’s Cup match against Namibia has been rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday.

The Saturday mid-morning kickoff was washed away following a heavy downpour in Maseru that later threatened the boys fixtures at the COSAFA U17 Cup.

Both the boys and girls COSAFA U17 Cup tournaments are being held in Lesotho under the ambit of the Region 5 Youth Games that Maseru is hosting from December 1-13.