ZAMBIA BEAT GHANA IN AFCON FUTSAL OPENNER

ZAMBIA’S national Futsal team kicked off its campaign at the ongoing TotalEnegies Morocco 2024 Futsal Africa Cup of Nations by coming from behind to beat Ghana 5-2 at Prince Mouley Abdellah Futsal Complex in Rabat, Morocco.

Five goals from Patrick Banda, Francis Chinyama, Wiseman Phiri, Mbalika Mwaliteta and Jack Simwami secured the vital win for the Andrea Cristoforetti-tutored Copper Sul Boys.

Zambia, making a third appearance at the Futsal AFCON started the game on a slow note and allowed Ghana to break the deadlock just eight minutes after kick off.

Emmanuel Pako beat goalkeeper Jackson Chitungu with a close range strike to give Ghana the lead.

Zambia had to wait for the last minute of the first stanza to grab the crucial equaliser through Phiri who had to benefit from Wiseman Phiri’s assist as the first half ended in a 1-1 stalemate.

In the second half, the Copper Sul Boys dictated play and finally went ahead for the first time in the game thanks to Chinyama’s goal. After being involved in the first two goals, Phiri finally added his name on the score sheet to make it 3-1 in favour of Zambia.

Ghana’s Philip Boye gave his team some hope when he reduced the deficit with a goal ten minutes into the second half. It took Zambia two minutes to restore their two-goal lead thanks to Mwalite whose goal in the 34th minute gave the Zambians a 4-2 lead. Simwami ended Ghana’s hopes for a comeback with a goal in the dying minutes of the second half to give Zambia a 5-2 victory in their opening fixture at the AFCON.

Zambia will now face COSAFA rivals Angola in their second Group A fixture scheduled for tomorrow.

The Copper Sul Boys will finally conclude their group games with a date against hosts Morocco on April 15.

Only the top two teams will progress to the knockout stage of the competition where the top three teams will qualify for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup scheduled for later this year in Uzbekistan.