The TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, which is being held in Egypt, saw Gambia defeat Zambia 2-0 to go to the quarterfinals.
In order to clinch their second victory of Group C, the Young Scorpions struck twice in the second half at the Haras El Hodoud Stadium.
With one game remaining, Abdoulie Bojang’s squad is invincible and will win the championship.
The Young Scorpions took the lead midway through the second half thanks to a goal from Cape Town City attacker Kajally Drammeh, and skipper Alagie Saine’s late penalty sealed the victory.
Read Also:AFCON U20: We Deserved To Win- Flying Eagles Defender, Agbalaka
The West Africans dominated the game and had many opportunities in the opening period to defeat the Young Copper Bullets.
In their opening group game against Tunisia, Abdoulie Bojang stuck with the same lineup. Ebrima Singhateh, a winger for Slavia Prague, got the majority of the chances for the Gambia, but the youngster was unsuccessful.
During the opening three minutes of the game, the former Real de Banjul protégé was given his first opportunity when he grabbed a loose ball outside the Zambian area, but his attempt was blocked for a corner.
The vivacious Singhateh got near on two occasions, but his attempts to defeat the Zambian goalkeeper Jeban Tembo lacked direction.
Derrick Bulaya’s effort to force Pa Ebou Dampha in the Scorpions’ goal to make a save gave the Young Copper Bullets a brighter start to the second half.
The Gambia replaced Alieu Gibba of Real de Banjul and Ebrima Singhateh with Modou Marong and Muhamed Sawaneh.
With Marong partnering Adama Bojang in attack and Muhamed Sawaneh filling in the three-man midfield, the pair helped the Young Scorpions advance.
In 63 minutes, Cape Town City star Kajally Drammeh’s close-range tap-in gave Gambia the lead.
Goalkeeper Pa Ebou Dampha’s long ball was knocked forward by Modou Marong beyond the Zambian defense, allowing Adama Bojang to surge through and set Drammeh up for the game-changing goal.
Gambia continued to dominate the ball well and scored their second goal from the penalty when Tembo pulled down Marong.
Alagie Saine, the team’s captain and second-time Man of the Match, converted the penalty kick to advance the two-time bronze medalists to the quarterfinals with still time to spare.
The outcome indicates that Gambia has an unbeatable lead in Group C. Their last group game will be against Benin, while Zambia will play Tunisia.