Chipolopolo will face Comoros for the first time at the COSAFA Cup after they were drawn together in Thursday’s group stage draws.
The COSAFA Cup defending champions are in Group B together with Madagascar, Malawi and Comoros.
Chipolopolo and Comoros have never meet at senior COSAFA Cup level as it enters its 20th edition this season when South Africa hosts it at Nelson Mandela Bay from July 7-18.
But this will be Zambia and Comoros third-ever meeting.
The two sides’ last encounter was in the 2012 AFCON Group C qualifiers.
Chipolopolo beat Comoros 2-1 away in Moroni on September 4, 2011 exactly a year their debut meeting in Lusaka that Zambia won 4-0 on September 5, 2010.
Meanwhile, Malawi and Zambia will face-off for the first time since the 2019 quarterfinals that Malawi lost 4-2 on post-match penalties following a 4-4 fulltime result.
Zambia went on to win their fifth title in that edition staged in Durban and will finally have a chance to defend it next month after the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chipolopolo last faced their other Group B opponents Madagascar in the 2018 semifinals that Zambia won 1-0 in Polokwane.
2021 COSAFA CUP DRAW:
GROUP A
South Africa
Lesotho
Eswatini
Botswana
GROUP B
Zambia
Malawi
Madagascar
Comoros
GROUP C
Senegal
Zimbabwe
Mozambique
Namibia
