Zambia finish 2nd at Botswana tourney

The domestic Chipolopolo squad finished runners up at the Mukuru 4 Nations tournament in Botswana on Tuesday evening.
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‎Zambia missed out on winning the tournament after losing 1-0 to Zimbabwe in the final at Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown.
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‎The Oswald Mutapa led team conceded the goal some seconds away from 90 minutes after a lapse in the backline.
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‎Zambia reached the final after beating Malawi 9-8 on penalties after a goalless stalemate.
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‎Mutapa was impressed with the character shown by the young Zambian team in Botswana.
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‎He said some players demonstrated that they can represent Zambia at the bigger stage.
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‎”It was a tough game. For me it is the character and the mentality the boys showed. Yes, we have lost but we are happy with the way the boys performed,” Mutapa said.
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‎”The way the boys performed and the character showed that we really have a team for the future,” he said.
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‎Mutapa said Zambia was building a team for the future.
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‎”We are trying to build a team, mainly for the Olympics. We will work on mistakes made at this tournament.”
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‎”For us it is a vision of 2030.  Going forward it is a vision of 2030. We will keep this team so that we are able to pick players to represent the nation in future,” Mutapa said.
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‎Mutapa used the tournament to give exposure to emerging talent that include Eliya Mandanji, Derrick Bulaya, captain Abraham Siankombo, Elliot Kampukesa, Patrick Chooma, Headson Paina, Jonathan Kalimina, Jackson Phiri and Kafunti Saisada.
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‎Others are Dominic Kanda, Humphrey Bwembya, Francis Banda, Derrick Bulaya, Luka Mainza, Christo Chitambala, Kelvin Chipelu, Ronald Chileshe, Yoram Chanda, Joseph Mulenga, William Kamwanga, Luka Mutoshi, Patson Kwataine, Golden Mashata, Elliot Kampukesa, Rickson Ng’ambi, Abel Salim Nyirongo and Ian Sindaye.