Zambia fire warning to AFCON U17 opponents, including Amajimbos

These are the sentiments of coach Ian Bakala as well as captain Aaron Mbemba Phiri, who addressed the media in Constantine, Algeria ahead of their tournament opener against Nigeria this evening (18h00).

The Junior Chipolopolo are pitted in what has been dubbed the 'Group of Death', which also features Morocco and South Africa, in what is only their second continental championship at this level.

However, Bakala remains defiant and believes the Zambians can cause a major upset not only in Group B but in the entire tournament.

"I think we are ready, the boys are looking good in training. We had a [friendly] before the tournament, and we saw the spirit of the team, so we are ready for the games," Bakala told reporters.

"We are here not just to participate, but we are here to fight for the cup and qualify for the World Cup. For us, we can look weak, but coming to the games, I think every team is strong [enough] for us to be here. 

"Saying we are the weakest, it's just the name, but football in Zambia is the biggest industry. We can't say we are going to underrate any team, we are going to beat them because they are underrating us. 

"We are here to make a name [for the country]. I think these other teams have done well in the past, but history has to be broken, and this is the time now you are going to see, while you're saying Zambia is weak, it's going to become stronger and stronger than all of them."

Skipper Mbemba echoed his mentor's belief, which he says is shared among the entire squad, and says they are motivated to change the narrative around their presence in Algeria.

"As a team, we are very ready for a very big tournament, one that almost every player in Africa wants to play, and to have this opportunity to play in the U17 Africa Cup of Nations is a big honour for me as a player," said Mbemba.

"People are underrating us but we don't have time to hear that from people. We want to do our best so that we can change what people are saying. We might be underdogs in the group, but I think we are a very strong team – one that's here to compete and not just to add numbers in the tournament.

"So, the communication within ourselves is very strong and we are talking like champions. We want to go very far, we want to go home on the last day of the tournament. So, we are here to make history."

Zambia will face coach Amajimbos in their second group encounter on Wednesday, after Duncan Crowie's side open their campaign against Morocco tonight (21h00), which will be broadcast live on SABC Sport Channel.