Zambia were the first winners of the Cosafa Castle Cup when the tournament was launched almost two decades ago and have continued to be up among the contenders.
Frenchman Herve Renard took over as coach in 2008 and led the side to victory at the 2012 African Nations Cup finals, their finest hour to date.
Chipolopolo have qualified for 17 African Nations Cup finals tournaments and aside from their 2012 win, have finished as runners-up twice.
They are also the only southern African country to have produced an African Footballer of the Year – Kalusha Bwalya in 1988.
Zambia’s Cosafa Cup record
Zambia won both of the first two editions of the Cosafa Castle Cup, but it took until 2006 for them to claim their third regional title. Their last title came in 2013 when they triumphed on home soil in 2013.
They have a formidable record, having lost just six times in 45 Cosafa Castle Cup appearances, not counting defeat in post-match penalty shootouts.
It was the annual southern African championship that in 1999 forced Zambia to give up their 15-year unbeaten record at Lusaka’s Independence Stadium when Angola surprised them in the semifinal.
The same happened again in 2001, albeit only after a post-match penalty shootout and again in the 2004 final.
Zambia’s first two Cosafa Castle Cup victories were achieved away from home, drawing in Windhoek with Namibia in 1997 to win the mini-league and beating Zimbabwe in Harare a year later. Their triumph in 2006 was, however, in front of their own fans in Lusaka.
In 2007 they lost on penalties to South Africa, while the South African Presidents XI knocked them out of the competition in the semifinals in 2008.
The Zambians would go on to beat Madagascar 2-0 in the third-place play-off.
They were finalists in 2009 in Zimbabwe, but ended up losing the decider 3-1 to their hosts, before getting revenge two years later when they defeated the Warriors 2-0 in the final.
ˆ€*They were surprise losers in a penalty shoot-out to eventual champions Namibia in the 2015 quarterfinals and would go on to lose the Plate final to Malawi.
The country has also won two titles won in the East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup in 1984 and 1991.
Overall Cosafa Cup record:
P W D L GF GA
45 24 16 6 66 26
Honours: 2012 Africa Cup of Nations winners; 1997, 1998, 2006, 2013 Cosafa Castle Cup winners; 1984, 1991 East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup.
FIFA ranking: 78
CAF ranking: 19
