Zambia will fly the COSAFA flag in the Tier B final of the inaugural FIFA Under-15 World Cup and Festival in Azerbaijan on Friday after a thrilling 4-3 victory over Senegal in Thursday’s semi-finals.
The Junior Chipolopolo will face Portugal at Baku’s Crystal Hall at 13h00 South African time, hoping to crown an outstanding campaign with the title in their section of the competition.
Zambia defeated Slovakia 3-1 in Thursday’s quarter-finals before producing a remarkable comeback against Senegal, recovering from a goal down on three occasions to secure their place in the decider.
Moses Munkombwe scored Zambia’s first equaliser before Maxen Msimuko struck twice to take his tournament tally to 13 goals. Samuel Musonda, who had already provided two assists, then netted the winner after Msimuko’s effort was saved.
It was another memorable performance from the Zambians, who had beaten England 3-2 and Niger 2-0 in Wednesday’s earlier knockout rounds.
The tournament features 189 national teams divided into six tiers following the initial group stage, with the overall world title reserved for the Tier A winners. Zambia are competing for the Tier B title, which carries 33rd place in the overall tournament rankings.
Madagascar also enjoyed an impressive run in Tier B, although their hopes of reaching the final ended with a 4-0 quarter-final defeat to Senegal on Thursday.
The islanders recovered to defeat Slovakia 2-1 in their subsequent classification match and will face Iran on Friday for fifth place in Tier B. Madagascar have been among the region’s standout performers, having won six of their seven matches before Thursday’s defeat.
South Africa enjoyed mixed fortunes, defeating the United Arab Emirates 5-1 before losing a seven-goal thriller 4-3 to Côte d’Ivoire. They will face Niger in their final classification match, with 11th place in Tier B at stake.
Angola, who had been the only COSAFA side to top their initial group and qualify for Tier A, suffered two more defeats on Thursday. They went down 7-5 to Northern Ireland and 4-3 to Cyprus, and will meet Estonia in their final match for 31st place overall.
There were contrasting fortunes for the region’s Tier C representatives. Mozambique lost 4-1 to hosts Azerbaijan but recovered to beat Cuba 2-1 and will meet Kazakhstan on Friday. Namibia defeated Trinidad and Tobago 4-1 before losing 4-0 to Moldova, leaving them with a final assignment against Nicaragua.
Malawi were beaten 4-0 by Panama and 6-2 by Thailand and will conclude their campaign against Rwanda.
In Tier D, Lesotho recorded an encouraging 2-1 victory over Bahrain before narrowly losing 3-2 to North Macedonia. They will face Syria in their final classification match.
Zimbabwe defeated the Philippines 3-2 but lost 3-0 to Sierra Leone, setting up a meeting with Cape Verde, while Botswana edged Myanmar 4-3 before going down 4-2 to Turkmenistan. They will play Tahiti on Friday.
Mauritius were involved in two close encounters, suffering 3-2 defeats to Tanzania and Jordan. They finish against Bahrain.
There were also positive performances from the COSAFA teams in Tier E. Seychelles defeated Mongolia 3-2 before losing 3-0 to Chinese Taipei and will meet Guam in their final game.
Eswatini bounced back from a 6-1 loss to The Gambia with a 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea and will face Singapore, while Comoros defeated Sri Lanka 2-0 before losing 2-1 to Antigua and Barbuda. Their last match will be against Dominica.
The competition concludes on Friday with six tier finals at Crystal Hall, including the Tier A championship match between Spain and Czechia.
Four African nations have reached tier finals, with Zambia joined by Tunisia, who face Belarus in Tier C, the Central African Republic, who meet Bangladesh in Tier E, and Ethiopia, who take on New Zealand in Tier F.
But for the COSAFA region, the biggest prize still within reach belongs to Zambia, who have the opportunity to finish their remarkable campaign as Tier B champions.
Beyond the results, the tournament has provided all 14 COSAFA representatives with valuable international exposure against opponents from across the globe, in a developmental competition played eight-a-side over two 20-minute halves.
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