Zambia Under-20 national team coach Perry Mutapa says the Junior Chipolopolo Boys will not relax when they face Botswana in their final Group C match of the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations/COSAFA Qualifier in Maputo, Mozambique.
Zambia openned the campaign with a 2-0 victory over Malawi before beating Comoros 3-0 at ABB 2 Stadium on Monday.
The two wins put Zambia top of Group C with six points, three ahead of second-placed Malawi.
Mutapa, said Zambia will approach the Botswana encounter with the same intensity as the opening matches, targeting another victory while maintaining the defensive discipline.
“Going into the game against Botswana, we expect to get three out of three, so any game is not an easy game. So, we don’t have to be big-headed or over-confident. Our aim is to finish on top and obviously do well. Even defensively, we don’t have to concede. We want to score more goals and not to concede,” Mutapa said.
The coach expects a competitive encounter despite Botswana having failed to win either of their opening matches.
“Botswana played a good game against Comoros. As we were analysing Comoros’ game, it was a tight game, the first game they played, because we had to analyse Comoros and Botswana. They drew, but it was a good game. Yesterday they lost to Malawi, but it is a good team, so we just have to focus on our strengths and work on our weaknesses,” he said.
Captain Tumelo Mununga, who was named Player of the Match against Comoros, says the award motivated him to work harder.
Mununga expects Botswana to provide a tough test as they chase their first victory of the tournament.
“The game against Botswana, as a team, our expectations is to win, but of course it won’t be easy because Botswana hasn’t won any match, so it won’t be easy because they will come on us to seek victory, but us, we are focused on winning the match,” Mununga said.
Zambia has dominated the recent meetings with Botswana, winning all three of their previous COSAFA Under-20 Championship encounters, 5-0 in 2019, 1-0 in 2022 and 1-0 in 2025. Botswana are yet to score in the tournament and will face a Zambia side that has already found the net five times in two matches, with Abel Nyirongo among the team’s attacking threats.
A semi-final birth would set up a meeting with the winners of Group B, where South Africa currently lead on six points after victories over Lesotho and Angola. The tournament serves as a qualification pathway for the 2027 CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana, with the two finalists earning qualification to the continental tournament.
