By GWEN CHIPASULA –
COACH Oswald Mutapa junior says he is contemplating making changes today as Zambia seek maximum points off Madagascar in the last Group B match at the COSAFA Under-17 Championship.
With qualification already clinched, Mutapa said he wants to give other players a feel of the tournament, though with the objective of maintaining the unbeaten status heading into the semi-finals.
Zambia started their campaign with a 4-0 rout over Kenya, which was followed by a 3-0 thrashing of Malawi to become the first team to reach the last four and also remain on course to defending the title.
“We are trying by all means to see how every player will perform because all this is preparation for the crucial Africa Junior Championship qualifiers, so in tomorrow’s (today) game, we shall use all those players that have not been used.
“It is not necessarily resting the other players, but we want to see the other players’ performance at the tournament too so that we see the players who have no game time,” he said.
Zambia lead the group on six points followed by Kenya and Malawi on three points, and the two sides play each other while Madagascar are bottom without a point.
Mutapa said the team is in high spirits and that even talk of age cheating has failed to demoralise the players including striker Nicholas Mulilo.
“All the players are fine. Nicholas is okay because we know what we are here for and our main focus is to get the title and get back home,” Mutapa said.