Four wins, 22 goals and a seven-goal afternoon for Maxen Msimuko: Zambia's under-15s finish second in their group at the first FIFA U-15 World Cup and go into Tier B

Zambia's under-15 boys have finished their group at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival in Baku with four wins from five matches. News Diggers reports that the Junior Chipolopolo closed their Group X programme with a 3–2 win over Comoros on Monday 26 October, having opened with a 3–1 win over Tanzania on Saturday, lost 3–1 to Uruguay on Sunday, beaten Moldova 2–1 and thrashed Montserrat 13–0. In its account of the Montserrat rout, the paper credits Maxen Msimuko, described as a Young Crocs striker, with seven goals, Simon Nyirenda with two, and Benson Bwalya, Chrispin Katoba, Thomson Mwashilinji and Samuel Musonda with one each.

A COSAFA round-up distributed by AllAfrica on Tuesday gives the group picture. Zambia finished second on 12 points, level with Uruguay, having scored 22 goals. Comoros finished the group on four points. The tournament, which brings together 189 national teams, is played eight-a-side in 40-minute matches, and when the group stage ended on Monday the teams were split into six tiers: the 32 group winners into Tier A, playing for the overall title, and the runners-up into Tier B, playing for positions 33 to 64. Zambia therefore goes into Tier B against other group runners-up; the opponents are decided by a draw and had not been named in either report.

The region's week

Angola lead the southern African charge. COSAFA reports that they won all five Group J matches, including 4–0 against Saudi Arabia, 3–2 against China and 2–1 against Japan, to top their group with 15 points and go into Tier A. South Africa finished second in Group A on ten points, with a 13–1 win over Anguilla, an 8–0 win over the Maldives and a 3–2 win over France among their results, and Madagascar were second in Group T on 12 points after beating Mozambique 2–0. Mozambique, Malawi and Namibia finished third in their groups; Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Mauritius fourth; Botswana took six points; and Eswatini, Comoros and the Seychelles finished lower. All 14 COSAFA members remain in the competition, since every team is guaranteed further matches.

Round two is on Wednesday 28 October, with more fixtures on Thursday and the six tier finals on Friday 30 October at Baku's Crystal Hall, according to COSAFA. Neither report names Zambia's coach or the squad's next opponents.

Sources: News Diggers, “Junior Chipolopolo wrap up group stage with victory” (27 Oct 2026); AllAfrica (COSAFA), “Angola Lead Cosafa Charge As FIFA Under-15 World Cup Enters Next Phase” (27 Oct 2026).