By GWEN CHIPASULA –
A SEMI-FINAL place beckons for Zambia when they take on Malawi in their second Group B match at the ongoing Council for Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) under-17 championship in Mauritius.
After starting with a resounding 4-0 win against Kenya, Zambia today face a test when they play a Malawi side, also on a high after winning their opening match against Madagascar with both sides on three points.
And today’s  tournament’s venue has been changed to the Stade AnjalayStadium in Belle Vue Maurel on the north part of the island because of a waterlogged pitch at Stade St Francois Xavier Stadium.
Zambia, who are tournament defending champions from two years ago, beat guest nation Kenya 4-0 in the first game while Malawi beat Madagascar 2-1 in their first game.
Coach Oswald Mutapa junior spoke highly of his charges declaring them  ready for today’s encounter and that the objective of this tournament still remains the same which was to defend the title.
Mutapa described today’s game as a must-win encounter and that the short-term target was for Zambia to top the group and qualify to the semi-finals.
“We want to get a clear qualification from the group. I have told the boys that we must aim even higher in this game as compared to the last game so that we beat Malawi because we can not afford to underrate  any team,” Mutapa said.
The coach said he is confident of victory today, adding that all is set for the match.
And team manager Collins Phiri confirmed that the team is injury free, adding that the morale in camp was high.
“The team is injury-free as I am speaking. They are even in training and the morale looks high. Tomorrow (today) will be a goodone,” he said.
Two teams from each group will qualify to the semi-finals with Zambia sharing the three points with Malawi in Group B while Madagascar and Kenya have zero points.