Coach Ian Bakala says he knew his Zambian side would triumph over South Africa in the Group B decider at the U17 AFCON Algeria 2023 | COSAFA Qualifier in Lilongwe on Wednesday.
Marcel Zimba scored the goal as Zambia beat South Africa 1-0 to win Group B with a perfect record at the Junior Championship in Malawi.
In a post-match comment, Bakala described the game against South Africa as tough.
“It was a tough game but we planned for it. We knew that South Africa was going to make a lot of changes. They have a good side,” he said.
“It was a 50-50 game. Like I said yesterday, it was going to be tough but we are going to come out victorious,” Bakala said.
Zambia will take on Botswana in the semifinals on Friday and South Africa will meet hosts Malawi.
“I can’t talk much about Botswana. I think we just have to go to the drawing board and see what we can do to make the team perform well and get the result,” Bakala said.
The two finalists in the competition, which also forms part of the Region 5 Games Lilongwe 2022, will qualify to the U17 AFCON Algeria 2023.
We should not hear that some players have been disqualified because they are over age!