By 
Zambia’s Under-20 national team kicked off their COSAFA U20 Youth Championship campaign in emphatic style on Monday, cruising to a 3-0 victory over Eswatini in their opening Group B match at the Region 5 Games in Windhoek, Namibia.
The young Chipolopolo showed intent from the outset, scoring all three goals within the opening 35 minutes to seal a dominant win.
Gabriel Phiri broke the deadlock in the 18th minute with a composed finish after being set up by Felix Phiri.
Billy Daka doubled Zambia’s advantage nine minutes later, tapping in from close range following a clever assist by Kelvin Chipelu.
Chipelu then capped a brilliant first-half display by adding a third in the 32nd minute, slotting home from open play to give Zambia a commanding 3-0 lead at the break.
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In the second half, Zambia maintained control of proceedings, with coach Osward Mutapa making tactical changes in the 79th minute, introducing Robert Banda for Chipelu and Temwani Simfukwe for Mapalo Simute to preserve energy for upcoming fixtures.
Eswatini struggled to offer resistance throughout the match, with Zambia dominating possession and territory, while the defence remained largely untested.
The result puts Zambia at the summit of Group B and in a strong position to secure a place in the knockout stages of the regional tournament.
The match, played at the Hage Geingob Stadium, marked Zambia’s opening fixture at the 2025 COSAFA U20 Championship — and they made it count with a commanding performance that underlines their title credentials.
Zambia would now turn their focus to their next group encounter as they look to build on this positive start in a competition where they are widely tipped as one of the favourites.
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