Chipolopolo BOYS

31/03/2026

ZIMBABWE WINS CUP.... BOYS WIN HEARTS BACK HOME

A determined Chipolopolo makeshif side dubbed team 'B' compromising of mostly U23, U20 & U17 players took Zimbabwe punch for punch in a tightly contested 4-Nations Mukuru Cup final won by Zimbabwe this afternoon.

Zimbabwe led by captain & former Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, benefited from an own goal from defender Kafunti Saida to narrowly beat Zambia 1-0 in the final held in Francistown, Botswana.

Meanwhile, Zambia did not give too much respect to a full strength Zimbabwe side; taking the game to The Wariors in most occasions and freezing Zim attack for most part of the game with team work, decisive clearances and impressive defensive shape.

Zimbabwe had 4-clear goal scoring opportunities stopped by Chipolopolo outstanding goalkeeper Luka Mainza in style.

Mainza literally kept Zambia in the match with incredible stops that kept on building his confidence with time.

Chipolopolo centre back led by Jackson Phiri and Kafuti Saisada were outstanding in dealing with first time balls, and worked well as a team with central midfielders to freeze Zimbabwe attack & limit scoring chances.

Of particular interest is Chipolopolo coach Oswald Mutapa who had little time to assemble the makeshift Chipolopolo but still managed to put out an all round impressive team performance.

Mutapa aka Mourinho stood throughout on the touch line, making instructions to make sure the new faced Chipolopolo Boys remained tactically disciplined in all departments, against an experienced Zimbabwe side.

In the end experience counted as Zimbabwe broke onto the counter on the right side to force an own goal on defender Saisada and claim the only important winning goal .

Back home in Zambia, the general impressions from the fans seem positive about the new team as the Chipolopolo showed determination, hunger and fight for every ball throughout the match.

The new team also gave a great deal of challenge to the main team(currently in Argentina) , as their hard work 'when-without-the-ball' was second to none : most often paid off with swift ball recoveries, when caught out of possession.

Aggression in ground and aerial duels was also eye-catching, as they kept of fighting for each other as a team , with relentless fighting spirit.

Zambia is seemingly poised to rise again as the Mukuru Tournament has unearthed & exposed talent , and increased the depth of player selection ahead of the 2027AFCON qualifiers.

04/01/2026

KINGS SCORES FROM THE BENCH

FT| Sakhnin 0-5 Hapoel Beer Sheva

ISRAEL| Kings Kangwa came from the substitutes bench in the 65th minute, before contributing a goal in the 85th minute for Hapoel Be'er Sheva who thrashed 10-man Sakhnin 5-0 away.

The Chipolopolo most dependable creative midfielder has now scored 4-goals and provided 2-assists in 15-matches in the 2025/26Israel Premier League season.

04/01/2026

04/01/2026

LAMECK GOAL SECURES POINT AGAINST JUVE

FT| Juventus 1-1 Lecce

Winger Lameck Banda scored from the unusual left wing position to help Italia Serie A side Lecce secure a vital away point against giants Juventus on Saturday.

This is Banda's second goal of the season and it came fews days after a frustrating 2025AFCON experience with the National team, where he was mostly deployed on the right wing.

31/12/2025

AFCON Round of 16!!

Morocco 🇲🇦 v 🇹🇿 Tanzania

Mali 🇲🇱 v 🇹🇳 Tunisia

Algeria 🇩🇿 v 🇨🇩 DR Congo

Egypt 🇪🇬 v 🇧🇯 Benin

Senegal 🇸🇳 v 🇸🇩 Sudan

Nigeria 🇳🇬 v 🇲🇿 Mozambique

Cote d'Ivoire 🇨🇮 v 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso

South Africa 🇿🇦 v 🇨🇲 Cameroon

OFFICIAL: ALL THE TEAMS QUALIFIED FOR THE ROUND OF 16 AT AFCON 2025 !

✅ 🇩🇿 Algeria
✅ 🇲🇦 Morocco
✅ 🇸🇳 Senegal
✅ 🇨🇩 DR Congo
✅ 🇪🇬 Egypt
✅ 🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire
✅ 🇨🇲 Cameroon
✅ 🇳🇬 Nigeria
✅ 🇿🇦 South Africa
✅ 🇹🇳 Tunisia
✅ 🇲🇱 Mali
✅ 🇧🇯 Benin
✅ 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
✅ 🇲🇿 Mozambique
✅ 🇹🇿 Tanzania
✅ 🇸🇩 Sudan

ALL TEAMS ELIMINATED IN THE GROUP STAGE OF AFCON 2025:

❌ 🇦🇴 Angola
❌ 🇿🇲 Zambia
❌ 🇬🇦 Gabon
❌ 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea
❌ 🇰🇲 Comoros
❌ 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
❌ 🇺🇬 Uganda
❌ 🇧🇼 Botswana

29/12/2025

Zambia starting Xi against Morocco tonight

Patson Daka

Lubambo Musonda. Kings Kangwa

Joseph Liteta.

Miguel Chaiwa. Benson Sakala

David Hamasenya. Mathews Banda
Kabaso Chongo Dominic Chanda

Willard Mwanza.

Tonight's setup is defensive as coach Moses Sichone deploys seven defenders in a bid to avoid defeat.

Owen Tembo is rested , Fashion Sakala is reportedly sick and Lameck Banda starts from the bench.

29/12/2025

THE REASON WHY FANS MUST MANAGE EXPECTATIONS

21:00hrs(CAT) Zambia v Morocco

The margins between Zambia and Morocco are too wide apart, and it would only be realistic for the Chipolopolo boys to give in more than 100% and go for an upset because fortunately, football is a fair game played on the field and NOT on paper.

However, should Zambia record a defeat , here are few things soccer fans will need to consider, before attacking the team:

AFCON RECENT RECORD

The last time Zambia recorded a win at AFCON is 14-years ago ; Zambia beat Ghana in the semi final before beating Ivory Coast in the penalty shootout.

Zambian football has been facing transition struggles since winning the tournament in 2012. The team went on to miss out on three(3) consecutive AFCON qualifications(2017,2019 & 2021).

HEAD TO HEAD

Zambia have never beaten Morocco in a competitive match since 1993.

Morocco has convincingly beaten Zambia in the last five(5) meetings .

RECORD AGAINST ARAB TEAMS

Wedson Nyirenda is the only coach who managed to beat an Arab team (Algeria) in 2018 .Other than that Zambia among other southern African countries have struggled to beat an Arab team away.

UNDERSTAND OPPONENT STATUS

Expecting Zambia to beat Morocco on home soil is like expecting Djibouti (with due respect) to beat Zambia at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.

Morocco are actually reaping from a well structured long term deliberate program which is now bearing fruits in all the football age groups, including women's football.

ZAMBIAN PLAYERS IN EURO TOP 5 LEAGUES

Only Lameck Banda and Joseph Liteta play in the top five European leagues (Italia Serie A) ; and they do not command the starting eleven at their respective clubs.

PLAYERS WITH AFCON EXPERIENCE

The most experienced Zambian players at AFCON in Stophilla Sunzu(×6), Lubambo Musonda(×3) hardly complete 90-minutes at club level.

MOST PLAYERS IN CAMP LACK CLUB GAMETIME

Most players making their second appearance at AFCON do not regularly play 90-minutes at club level , with an exception of Kings Kangwa.

REBUILDING PHASE

It would be unrealistic to expect instant results from a team that is in a rebuilding process followed the departure of Avram Grant.

NEW COACH MOSES SICHONE

New coach Moses Sichone made several changes to the regular starting xi players, and added a few young U20 stars to the squad weeks before the big tournament.

Sichone should be properly judged or rated after being in charge of atleast 10-competitive matches.So far he has lost 3-international friendly matches and drawn 2-competitive matches .

What remains to be seen is how he will play against teams ranked lower than Zambia.As at now the defence and goalkeeping look stable.

TOURNAMENT DEBUTANTS

Willard Mwanza, Owen Tembo and Mathews Banda are only making their first ever appearance. It is only fair to understand, should they be exposed tonight.

Nine(9) more players on the substitutes bench are also making thier maiden appearance and it would be unreasonable to expect them to perform wonders .

ZAMBIAN CLUBS IN CAF COMPETITIONS

At club level, The Zambian Super League has struggled to break into the semi final stage of the CAF Champions league since 2015 during the times of ZESCO United FC.

Top scorers in the Zambia Super League hardly reach 20-goals in a season in the last decade, which also exposes the drought of prolific strikers.

DEPENDABLE GOAL SCORERS

And sadly Zambia's only reliable and dependable striker Patson Daka has had a difficult 2025 season only scoring 2- goals for both club and country.

Kennedy Musonda who was top scorer in the qualifiers has also seen a quiet season since moving from Tanzania to Israel.

Fashion Sakala equally has looked uncomfortable in the left wing as he has struggled to record shots on target .

Jack Kalichi the new entrant, scored a beautiful striker instict goal against Angola but has seemingly dropped in the shadows of experienced Daka in the strikers pecking order.

29/12/2025

CHIPOLOPOLO BOYS FACE ATLAS LIONS TONIGHT

21:00hrs Zambia v Morocco

Chipolopolo Boys have a chance to rewrite history tonight when they face Africa's number one(1) ranked team Morrocco in the concluding Group A fixture of the TotalEnergies 2025 Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON).

The highly anticipated match is slated for a newly renovated 67500 capacity Complexe Sportif Moulay-Abdellah Stadium and set to kick off at 21:00hrs(CAT).

Zambia who dropped one place to 91st in the latest FIFA rankings released on 22nd December 2025 , will have to be at their best to thwart 11th placed Morocco.

In a total of 22-meetings between the two countries, Morocco reign supreme, beating Zambia 14-times , drawing twice and losing 6-times.

The last time Zambia beat Morocco in a competitive match was on 4th July 1993, during the FIFA World Cup qualifiers played at Independence Stadium.

However, Zambia under Beston Chambeshi still managed to beat Morocco under Herve Renard 3-2 away in an international friendly match played in Marrakech on 16th June, 2019.

The Atlas Lions have been ruthless since then, beating Chipolopolo Boys in all the latest five(5) meetings.

If history is anything to go by, both teams are tightly contested : with Zambia winning the AFCON once in 2012 with 19-appearances, while Morocco last won the tournament in 1976 with 20-appearances.

Zambia go into tonight's match with belief and courage to turn tables after recording one of the mean defense record of allowing only 1-goal in the group stage of the ongoing 2025AFCON.

The pressure is on Morocco on the other hand because expectations are high as tournament hosts after droping points against Mali in the previous round 2 match.

Zambia is expected to carry a cautious approach , set to close spaces in defence and catch thier opponent on the break , while Morocco is expected to throw all their weight of attack to Zambia to lead by halftime.

A deadlock by halftime , could frustrate Morocco while Zambia could build on confidence to silence the home crowd.

The mental aspect of the game will be crucial with an expected full capacity stadium ready to chant and intimidate the Chipolopolo Boys .

Morocco will need to be leading by halftime to be secure while Zambia will need to avoid fauls in sensitive areas by keeping the defence tight with high levels of concentration.

28/12/2025

ZAMBIA IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK ESPECIALLY IN DEFENCE

The biggest mistake Morocco will do is to underrate Zambia tomorrow on Monday.

Zambia could spring as a suprize package and take Morocco punch for punch 👊 .

The Chipolopolo team was no where near having a solid defense before those tournament started .

And Zambia has managed to face five(5) back to back strong teams in the buildup to the match against Morocco.

Facing South Afrrca, Angola, DR Congo, Mali and Comoros was a real test at the highest level for Zambia.

Playing these high quality African sides has made Zambia even stronger 💪 at the backline and mentality aspects of the game.

Defence is the most important department of any team and improvement has been visible in how Zambia has conceded goals.

South Africa 3-1 Zambia

Basically playing away from home gives a real test to players' character, and the team can be forgiven for allowing 3-goals because this game came right after changes were made in the coaching department.

Angola 3-2 Zambia

A steady improvement against a team that just played Argentina 🇦🇷 few days before.

A young assembled makeshift Chipolopolo held their own , throwing everything they had, to take the game to home side Angola, and score 2-goals in the process.

In this game, despite allowing 3-goals, an improvement was visible with scoring back to back goals through high press system deployed by coach Perry Mutapa.

DRCongo 2- 0 Zambia

Now for those that may not be aware , DRC is one of the a strong side expected to reach the final or semi final of the ongoing 2025AFCONtournament.

In this game , only 1-goal could be considered in open play, as a clearly conceded and beat Zambiam defence squary througha corner.

The other goal was gifted by goalkeeping error from Lawrence Mulenga, which means Zambia got better from conceding 3-goals per game to one goal per game 👏.

Zambia 0 - 0 DR Congo

This was the beginning of signs that this team is heading in right direction.

Forcing a draw against DRC should be considered a good result because it was a game between an established strong team against another in a rebuilding process.

In this game Zambia tightened the defence and now made a clean sheet .

So from allowing 6-goals in first two games(RSA & Angola) ,and the team goes to allow 2-goals in two games (DRC)

Mali 1- 1 Zambia

Zambia held their own to avoid defeat in an openinh encounter: coming from behind to force an important draw.

What makes this game interesting is that with many debutants in Chipolopolo set up, the defence remained resolute allowing only a single goal.

This was a clear upward trajectory because now the team had improved the ratio of allowing 3 goal ls per game , to allowing only a 1 goal per game at their worst consecutively.

Zambia has basically shown that they are a becoming a hard team to break in defence: reducing the deficit of 3- goals per game to 1-goal per game ratio.

By the way, Mali showed that they are a real threat when they went on to force a draw against Morocco; Which means Zambia is equally a strong side .

Zambia 0- 0 Comoros

Fans back home could have criticized the team for failing to collect maximum points but Comoros is a very well organized team that could go as far as the quarter final stages like in 2021AFCON.

Zambia did well to avoid defeat as it served as better result, if all came to the worst. Defeat could have changed everything for Zambia .

For the record , this Comoros side made life difficult for Ghana to qualify to the ongoing 2025AFCON.

Comoros fluidity in transition against both Moroco and Zambia gives a signal of a real threat at this AFCON.

Now, a clean sheet was the most interesting result that shows that Zambia is actually in a very good direction and should not lose focus .

The draw against Comoros actually means that Zambia has now only conceded 2-goals in open play in last 4 big games (ignoring the goal Lawrence conceded).

This ratio of allowing few 0.5 goal per game against 3 big guns in African football shows that Chipolopolo defence is in a good shape, enough to thwart Morocco.

27/12/2025

PROBABLE CHANGES AGAINST MOROCCO

Patson Daka
Lubambo Musonda. Sabobo Banda

Kings Kangwa.

Miguel Chaiwa. Owen Tembo

David Hamasenya. Mathews Banda
Benson Sakala. Dominic Chanda

Willard Mwanza.

LEFT WING

Fashion Sakala has struggled and there doesn't seem to be an impactful replacement on the left wing.

If Fashion will start on the bench , it could mean Lubambo Musonda will reclaim his natural position as a left winger.

Lubambo also holds qualities of tracking back to help in defence .

Another versatile player that can manage the left wing is Obino Chisala , who is such a multi talented player able to play in different positions.

Sabobo Banda yesterday showed that he can also play effectively on the left wing, but ideally he is more dangerous from the right side and coming on as substitute.

Starting Joseph Sabobo exposes his endurance levels, while he may also struggle to help in defensive duties.

Kennedy Musonda is another versatile player able to play on the left wing, but unfortunately he is more of a direct player, and asking him to drible past defenders will be asking too much from him.

RIGHT WING - LAMECK BANDA

Lameck Banda is urguably the best option in this department despite having bad games in the last two matches.

Ordinarily, Lameck stands a better chances to start again because of his ability to track back and help on defence without losing steam.

His tireless runs , physical presence, pace and ability to eliminate defenders with dribbling skill.

It's unfortunate that he struggled to impose threat against both Mali and Comoros but it has also been visibly clear that he was targeted as dangerous player; hence always found himself heavily policied by two or more defenders(especially against Comoros).

RIGHT WING- JOSEPH SABOBO BANDA

It would only be fair start Sabobo because he has always looked lively and changed the games once introduced.

His clever & unpredictable moves always catches opponents napping .

Sabobo has shown character, and the right mentality as he always remain composed in tight marking situations.

For the record Sabobo turned a Comoros defender inside out against Comoros to send a statement that he is not afraid to apply his dribbling abilities at the big stage.

But sadly , Zambia is in a rebuilding process and as such may not afford to have a winger who can hardly track back to help Mathews Banda.

Joseph Sabobo is a quality winger but lacks the physical endurance levels when asked to track back and help in defence.

In the last two games coming on as substitute, Sabobo has shown moments of brilliance setting himself free from tight marking situations,while winning balls in his favour.

The smartness and unpredictability from Sabobo makes work look easy on the wings and just not clear if the coach will go him or still maintain Lameck Banda.

LEFT-BACK

If Lubambo Musonda can move up, the left fullback position remains up for grabs with two quality players available in David Hamasenya and Obino Chisala.

David Hamasenya has been exceptional during the international friendly matches ; enough to warrant him gametime against Morocco.

Obino Chisala is also a fast and intelligent players with beautiful vision and passing accuracy abilities.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD

Kings Kangwa has also struggled to bring his 'A' game and as known by now, 'Zambia plays well when Kings is playing well.'

He is another player who even on a bad day becomes reliable in different aspects ranging from set pieces and keeping possesion in tight situations.

While others would argu that he needs a rest, changes could be effected after an hour mark if the midfield doesn't tick once more.

Options available include David Simukonda, Given Kalusa, Wilson Chisala and Joseph Liteta.

HOLDING MIDFIELD

Morocco will be aiming at collecting maximum points and it would only make sense for Zambia to tighten spaces in the defensive department by deploying a double in Miguel amd Owen.

STRIKER

Playing a full capacity stadium in front of Morocco home fans require players with strong mentality and experience.

Patson Daka has the ability to deal with the pressure however it may come.

After the hour mark , Jack Kalich Lahne, Kennedy Musonda , Fashion Sakala or Eliya Mandanji can fancy chances coming on with fresh legs to change the game .

OVERALL TEAM

The team has done well to avoid defeat at all costs in the last two games and now would only be fair to make few changes to the midfield and attack which has struggled to create scoring chances.

The technical bench should be worried that the midfield has literally failed to stamp authority and also create clear cut scoring opportunities for Daka in the last two games.

So far the goalkeeping, holding midfield and defense departments look sorted 👌 .

What remains now is how long the fans will patiently wait for the technical bench to fix the attacking midfield and striking force.

26/12/2025

ZAMBIA, COMOROS IN MAKE OR BREAK AFCON TIE

19:30hrs(CAT) Zambia vs Comoros

Patson Daka.
Fashion Sakala. Lameck Banda.

David Simukonda. Kings Kangwa.

Owen Tembo.

Lubambo Musonda. Mathews Banda.
Benson Sakala. Dominic Chanda.

Willard Mwanza.

Chipolopolo boys have 90-minutes against Comoros to decide how long they can stay at the ongoingTotalEnergies 2025Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON) , in tonight's second Group A fixture, set to start in few minutes.

Coach Moses Sichone has made one change to rhe starting lineup which drew with Mali: introducing more attack midfielder minded David Simukonda , in place of natural defensive midfield oriented Miguel Chaiwa .

This system is meant to go on an all out attack on Comoros, thereby leaving Owen Tembo as lone holding midfielder.

Against Mali , Zambia deployed a cautious approach with Owen Tembo amd Miguel Chaiwa partnering as a duo in holding midfield, while tonight's system allowed David to place closer to attacking midfielder Kings Kangwa in an advanced role.

Kings and David are also expected to track back and provide cover for the Owen Tembo and the two center backs, as they did against DRC in a friendly.

Comoros on the other hand will put their lives on the line and fight with everything they have , because defeat for them tonight could potentialy end their road of the 2025AFCON journey.

The pace with Comoros is also expected to test Zambia to the fullest and this match signals the beginning of real African football challenge.