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Zambia Team Page

Squad

Coach: George Lwandamina

Roster:

Goalkeepers: Bob Gift Banda, Jacob Banda, Danny Munyao,

Defenders: Dennis Banda, Richard Chibwe, Goodson Kachinga, Henry Nyambe, Joseph Zimba

Midfielders: Peter Malama, Musatwe Simutowe, Sebastian Mwansa, Clifford Mulenga, William Njobvu, Richard Phiri, Stophira Sunzu, Fwayo Tembo, Justine Zulu

Forwards: Rodgers Kola, Emmanuel Mayuka, Simon Lupiya, Floyd Phiri

Scouting Report

Strengths: This team has momentum on its side. Zambia stunned the field at the recent African Youth Championship to finish fourth thanks to upset victories over Egypt and Cameroon. George Lwandamina is a tough-as-nails coach who has the respect of his young players. Lwandamina, a former international defender, has built a well-organized team that is tough to break down.

Weaknesses: Experience is obviously an issue. This is only Zambia’s second appearance at the U-20 World Cup (it previously qualified in 1999 in Nigeria). The majority of Zambia’s players ply their trade in the country’s domestic league, which is hardly a hotbed of quality soccer. It also doesn’t bode well that two of the tournament favourites, Spain and Uruguay, are in Zambia’s group.

Player to watch: Clifford Mulenga is Zambia’s most dangerous offensive player and has a lot of potential. The teenaged winger possesses a sweet left foot and scored two goals in the qualifying campaign against a strong Cameroon team, paving the way for Zambia to qualify for the U-20 World Cup.

Prognosis: Zambia has a tough task ahead of itself in Group B. Traditional soccer powerhouses Uruguay and Spain, who won this tournament in 1999, are world-class teams and it’s asking too much of the inexperienced African nation to earn a draw (let alone a victory) against either of those nations. A win against Jordan in its opening game is crucial for Zambia – a draw or a loss will automatically end any chance it has of moving on to the second round. First and second place in the group is out of the question, so Zambia will be battling Jordan for third. Four of the best third-place teams will qualify for the round of 16, but it’s hard to see Zambia being one of those teams.

ROAD TO THE U-20 WORLD CUP

2007 qualification route: Zambia qualified for the U-20 World Cup by reaching the semifinals of the African Youth Championship in February.

Qualifying record: 9 games played, 4 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw

Goals for: 17 Goals against: 14

Top goal-scorer in qualifying (final tournament only): Clifford Mulenga (3) and Fwayo Tembo (3)

Qualifying results:

Initial qualifier

Round 1 (two-legged match)

Aug. 5 and Aug. 20, 2006 – Zambia 4-1, 1-1 Madagascar (5-2 on aggregate)

Round 2 (two-legged match)

Sept. 30 and Oct. 22, 2006 – South Africa 2-1, 0-2 Zambia (2-3 on aggregate)

Final tournament

Group play (B)

Jan. 21, 2007 – Nigeria 4, Zambia 2

Jan. 24, 2007 – Zambia 3, Cameroon 2

Jan. 27, 2007 – Zambia 3, Egypt 0

Semifinals

Jan. 30, 2007 – Zambia 0, Congo 1

Third-place match

Feb. 2, 2007 – Gambia 3, Zambia 1

U-20 World Cup 1st round matches (all times local)

July 1 vs. Jordan in Burnaby, B.C. (Swangard Stadium) at 14:15

July 4 vs. Spain in Burnaby, B.C. (Swangard Stadium) at 19:45

July 7 vs. Uruguay in Victoria, B.C. (Royal Athletic Park) at 14:15

U-20 WORLD CUP HISTORY

This year marks Zambia’s second appearance at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. In their debut in 1999 in Nigeria, the African nation was unable to advance beyond the first round. Bernard Makufi led Zambia in scoring in that tournament with two goals in three matches.

Number of previous U-20 World Cup Appearances: 1

All-time record: 3 games played, 1 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss

Goals for: 5 Goals against: 3

Biggest victory: 4-3 vs. Honduras in 1999

Biggest defeat: 1-5 vs. Brazil in 1999

Hosted the U-20 World Cup: never

U-20 History

1977 to 1997 – Did not qualify

1999 – First round

2001 to 2005 – Did not qualify

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