There were scenes of joy unconfined among Zambia’s players and staff upon the final whistle of their FIFA U-17 World Cup™ clash with Honduras.
A 5-2 victory confirmed their place in the knockout phase of the competition with a game to spare. The African nation had already made history by qualifying for the U-17 World Cup, having never reached the tournament finals before.
Speaking to FIFA post-match, coach Dennis Makinka summed up the magnitude of the achievement.
“It’s a great feeling for the country,” he said. “It’s the first time we have been at the World Cup at the U-17 level. We are seeing the great talent these boys have. We’re planning to push even harder to make the people back home happy. We are receiving so many messages! It’s awesome.”
The team spirit in the ranks was evident when the team’s dynamic and versatile captain Jonathan Kalimina was announced as the Player of the Match. His team-mates enthusiastically applauded their skipper, whose skill, power and leadership has shone through at Qatar 2025.
Kalimina, who has three assists to his name already at the tournament, has operated at full-back in Zambia’s opening two games, but is also comfortable playing in midfield.
He set out the team’s collective ambition to go even further in the tournament – and insisted they will not be overawed by the challenge of facing Brazil in their final group game.
With both teams having already booked their tickets to the Round of 32, the match will decide who tops the group.
“We are very happy,” says Kalimina, who revealed he looks up to Portugal and Paris Saint-Germain star Nuno Mendes. “We are doing everything as a team, and we are happy to proceed to the next round. We are aiming very high to top the group, and the game against Brazil, we will take it as it comes. We are not scared of anything. We want to leave a mark.
“As the captain, there is so much support behind me. I am urging my team-mates to push themselves and we are aiming to go even further in the competition.”
Zambia have hit eight goals in their opening two matches, having kicked off their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Indonesia. Coach Makinka, however, insisted there is room for improvement.
“We want to go one step at a time. We scored three in the first game, against Honduras we scored five, but we are disappointed because we conceded two goals we are not supposed to allow.
“We still need to work hard on the defensive part. It was a good result, with great goals, but we need to do more, because we face a very tough opponent on Monday. It will be a very, very tough game against Brazil. But you have to play against the best for you to be the best. We are aiming to get a good result.”
