Zambia's Nyirongo Secures Dramatic Victory Over Angola to Retain U-17 COSAFA Title

Zambia’s Under-17 boys’ team clinched the COSAFA Qualifiers championship for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Angola on Friday at the University of Johannesburg Soweto Campus Stadium. Abel Nyirongo’s 90th-minute winner sealed the title, avenging his earlier missed opportunities.

The defending champions took the lead in the 39th minute when Nyirongo cleverly flicked in a cross from Robert Banda at the near post, beating Angola’s goalkeeper Rodrigo Tremoco. Angola responded swiftly, equalizing three minutes later through Omar Oliveira’s deflected free-kick, which caught Zambian goalkeeper William Zulu off guard.

In the second half, both teams had chances to score but missed a few. Oliveira showed great skill on the left side but missed a chance by shooting over the goal. Nyirongo missed a penalty in the 72nd minute, which was saved by Tremoco's amazing one-handed stop.

As the game seemed to be ending in a tie, Nyirongo made up for his mistake in the last minute. He got the ball with his back to the goal, quickly turned, avoided the defenders, and scored past Tremoco, causing the Zambian team to celebrate.

Zambia is currently a back-to-back winner after winning the COSAFA title in 2022. To represent their area in the AFCON finals, they will go with Angola.

Key Highlights:

• First Goal: Nyirongo’s clinical finish after Banda’s assist (39’).
• Angola Equalizer: Oliveira’s deflected free-kick (42’).
• Missed Penalty: Nyirongo denied by Tremoco’s save (72’).
• Winning Goal: Nyirongo’s dramatic late strike (90’).

Zambia’s victory also mirrored their female counterparts’ dominance earlier in the day, where the girls’ team crushed Lesotho 15-0 to claim their championship.