“WE HAVE TO GET A LEAF FROM THE U17 & U20”

Oswald Mutapa, the head coach of the Zambia U23 National Side, has urged his team to learn from the junior national teams who have advanced to their respective AFCON tournaments.

It will only complete the junior football cycle if the U23 matches their success and qualifies for the 2023 AFCON, which will be hosted in Morocco in June, according to Mutapa, who claims that both the U17 and U20 national teams have demonstrated consistency through hard effort.

Zambia will play against Egypt in the 3rd and final round of the 2023 U23 AFCON Qualifiers on March 19, 2023, before hosting the North Africans eight days later.

The U17 and U20 Men’s National Teams both successfully qualified for the continental championship, which will be hosted in Algeria and Egypt, after winning the COSAFA Championships, which served as the qualifying tournament for the AFCON.

“We have to get a leaf from the U20 and U17 teams that have all qualified for the AFCON, it means we have to work extremely hard to do the same. The young boys have done it, and we can equally do the same but it’s all about hard work,” Mutapa said after overseeing his charges slump to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the U20 in a practice match played at National Heroes Stadium.

Moses Mulenga and Emmanuel Mukosha scored for the U20 but in the second practice match, Mutapa’s charges defeated Chisi Mbewe’s lads via an Enock Sakala junior solo goal.

“It’s a tough (against Egypt) one but it’s all about preparation and the way we account ourselves on the day of the game. We will play the first game away and the following week we play the last game so we will have our last hurdle which we have to look at and prepare well.”