Zambia Crushes Egypt Out of 2017 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations

(VON)  Zambia came back to beat Egypt 3-1 in the 2017 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group A game at the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka on Saturday afternoon.

The victory sees Young Chipolopolo finish at the top of Group A with nine points, while the Young Pharaohs finish third with two points.

The opening stages of the game were very tense as the Young Pharaohs did well to contain the Young Chipolopolo, who were keen to take the lead.

But as the game progressed Egypt began pushing forward in numbers – applying pressure on the Zambian defence, which was led by Solomon Sakala.

Egypt forward Ahmed Aboelfetouh Mohamed was looking lively for the Young Pharaohs upfront as they searched for the opening goal.

The pressure paid off in the 35th minute when Karim Hassan put the ball into an open net to make it 1-0 to Egypt – silencing the Zambian fans in the process.

Zambia tried to grab an equalizing goal before the half-time break, but the Young Pharaohs stood firm at the back and the score was 1-0 to Egypt at the interval.

But it took only four minutes for Patson Daka to make it 1-1 for Zambia in the second-half with a good finish – much to the delight of the home crowd.

The momentum was with Zambia and in the 63rd minute, Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Mohamed pulled off a great save keeping out a deflected header.

However, the Young Pharaohs keeper was beaten ten minutes later when Fashion Sakala headed home from close range to make it 2-1 Zambia.

Daka, who had levelled matters for the Young Chipolopolo, scored again – sealing Zambia’s 3-1 victory with a good finish in stoppage time.

As a result Egypt are knocked out of the tournament, while Zambia had already qualified for the semi-finals and also the 2017 FIFA Under-20 World Cup finals.

Zambia (0) 3 (P.Daka 49′, 91′, F.Sakala 63′)
Egypt (1) 1 (A.Hassan 35′)

Zambia: M.Banda, M.Nyondo,
P.Chiluya, S.Sakala, Sakulanda, F.Sakala, E.Mwepu, S.Mayembe, E.Chilufya,
P.Daka, B.Musonda.

Egypt: M.Mohamed, A.Moussa, O.Toeima, M.Sharafeldin, K.Hassan, N.Ehamid, M.Abdalla, A.Hassan, A.Hafez, A.Abdou, A.Mohamed.

VON