The Junior Chipolopolo are through to the last 16 of the first FIFA U-15 World Cup, and they got there the hard way. ZamFoot reported on Wednesday 28 October that Zambia beat England 3–2 in a round-of-32 tie in the tournament's Tier 2 competition, played on Pitch 3B of the Hovsan Competition Complex in Baku, after going two goals down.
England scored twice to lead 2–0. Maxen Msimuko of Kafue Celtic, who News Diggers reports scored seven goals in the group stage, pulled one back before half-time. In the second half Samuel Musonda of Sporting Lusaka equalised and Chrispine Katoba, also of Kafue Celtic, scored the winner. ZamFoot's report does not give the minutes of the goals, and the match report on the English FA's website read for this edition covers only the group stage, so the English scorers are not named here.
How they got here
Brian Kunsanama's squad finished second in their group on 12 points, level with Uruguay but one goal worse off on goal difference, ZamFoot reported on 26 October, after beating Tanzania 3–1, Moldova 2–1, Montserrat 13–0 and Comoros 3–2 and losing 3–1 to Uruguay. Group winners went into Tier A and runners-up into the second tier, which ZamFoot's later report calls Tier 2, in a 180-team festival whose second-tier final is scheduled for Friday 30 October. England, by contrast, had come through Group C with three wins from three: 4–0 against Nicaragua, 2–1 against Montenegro and 10–0 against Cambodia, according to the English FA's own match reports.
The tournament is the first FIFA U-15 World Cup and is being played in Azerbaijan with a festival format that splits teams into tiers after the group stage. Zambia's next opponent in the round of 16 had not been confirmed when ZamFoot published, and no date was given for the tie.
The result adds to a fortnight in which Zambia's youth sides have gone in opposite directions: the Copper Princesses left the U-17 Women's World Cup without a point, as Lusaka Brief reported last week, while the under-15 boys have now won five matches in Baku and eliminated a side that had won all three of its group games.
Sources: ZamFoot, “Zambia stun England with remarkable comeback to reach U15 World Cup last 16” (28 Oct 2026); ZamFoot, “Zambia U15 qualifies to tier 2 at FIFA World Cup” (26 Oct 2026); England Football (The FA), “Young Lions make it three from three at FIFA U15 World Cup” (25 Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Junior Chipolopolo wrap up group stage with victory” (27 Oct 2026).