Zambia took a big step towards the semifinals of the TotalEnergies CAF Under 17 Africa Cup of Nations | COSAFA Qualifier when they beat old foes Zimbabwe 5-1 in an entertaining Group B clash in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Abel Nyirongo scored a hat-trick to shoot to the top of the tournament scorers list, while Mapalo Simute got his third of the competition and Nkotami Chimwemwe scored a late fifth as the Zambia’s took their tally of goals to 13 in two matches and underline their quality.
Zimbabwe had equalised at 1-1 through the excellent Valentine Macheka, but they could not contain the tall figure of Nyirongo and he grabbed his treble.
Namibia edged Eswatini 2-1 in the other game in the pool as Brayton Paulse and Stephen Kamulu were on target. Aviwe Dlamini got what proved the consolation goal for Eswatini.
Zambia head the pool with six points, while Zimbabwe and Namibia have three each.
