Zambia target maiden U20 AFCON title •South Africa out to bag bronze against Guinea News

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Zambia target maiden U20 AFCON title •South Africa out to bag bronze against Guinea

By Daily Sports on March 11, 2017

Zambia will square off with Senegal in the 2017 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final at the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka on Sunday.

Kick-off is at 17h30 (CAT).

The Young Chipolopolo booked their place in the final after edging out South Africa 1-0 in a semi-final encounter at the same venue on Wednesday night.

Edward Chilufya hit the back of the net in the second-half of extra-time and Zambia held on to record a hard-fought victory over their Southern African rivals.

The tournament hosts, who won all of their Group A games, will look to Patson Daka. The lethal forward has netted three goals in the competition.

Zambia coach Beston Chambeshi is looking to make history by guiding the Young Chipolopolo to their first ever U20 AFCON title.

Meanwhile, Senegal advanced to the final after beating Guinea 1-0 in the semi-final clash at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola on Thursday night.

Aliou Badji put the Young Lions of Teranga into the lead in the first-half and they contained their West African rivals until the match referee blew the final whistle.

Krepin Diatta, who has two goals in the tournament, is the player to watch out for in the Senegal team, who were undefeated in Group B with one draw and two draws.

Senegal have never won the U20 AFCON title and coach Joseph Koto will be hoping to change this by masterminding a victory over the Young Chipolopolo.

Zambia and Senegal have already qualified for the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup finals which will be hosted by South Korea between 20 May-11 June.

Meanwhile, South Africa will hope to bag the third spot when they meet Guinea on Sunday

Amajita will be out to restore their pride and ensure they wrap-up their junior tournament in style with a bronze medal.

Coach Thabo Senong will have to motivate his side to win their third match in the tournament as they bagged two wins in Group B.

Despite a fine run in the group phase, they succumbed to a late 1-0 loss to hosts Zambia on Wednesday in the semi-finals.

On the other hand, having qualified for the 2017 FIFA World Cup and meeting the Young Syli Nationale presents an opportunity to ensure they exit the tournament in high spirits.

“I believe that they (Zambia) are the favourites. I even said when we came here in Lusaka that we want to prepare with the favourites, which Zambia is,” said Senong.

“We qualified to the World Cup because of preparing with this kind of opposition. I think they are the favourites to win the tournament but of course it is going to be very tough.

“In general I am very proud of the progress of football in the Southern region. This tournament has been really a Cosafa tournament, we have just tried to balance the dominance that we always experience from our West African counterparts.”

Looking at the Syli Nationale, their 1-0 loss in the semi-finals has also pushed them to find a win on Sunday.

Coach Mandjou Diallo is aware he must motivate his charges to put the Senegal loss behind them.

Guinea are one of the surprise packages in the tournament as they shocked many by reaching the semis and booking a spot at the U20 World Cup later this year..

Having finished as number two in Group A with four points from one win and a draw behind hosts Zambia, Guinea will want to bag the medal on offer.

The match will be staged at the National Heroes Stadium on Sunday afternoon at 14:00.

•Adapted from reports by mtnfootball.com. Photo shows Zambian player (green jersey) in action at the 2017 Under-20 AFCON.

Source Daily Sports

Posted March 11, 2017