Zambia overcame a resilient Germany at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup to win the Round of 16 clash 4-3 in extra time and qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time in history.
After falling back 1-0 to a fantastic Germany free kick from Phillip Ochs, the African Champions soured on to make a remarkable recovery in the second half through Emmanuel Banda who equalized after he sent a loose ball from a miscued Enock Mwepu volley attempt in the penalty area, to smash it into the top corner.
Fashion Sakala then powered the Young Chipolopolo forward with a craze-like strike so hard, it swerved past the Germany goalkeeper. Mwepu pushed the lead further with a third.
But the game was far from over when Suat Serdar scored a second for Germany with a clever backheel flick but substitute, Jonas Arweiler made all the difference with a dramatic equalizer after converting a flicked overhead pass to score in the dying minutes of full time.
However, a no stranger to comebacks, Zambia held on despite missing crucial set piece chances; some involving counter attacks that outmatched the German defense sometimes, 4:1, and eventually scored a fourth and decisive goal through Shemmy Mayembe to send the African side into the next round.
This is the second tournament in a row where Germany was eliminated by an African opponent following the quarter-finals loss to Mali two years ago in New Zealand.
Zambia will now wait to meet either France or Italy scheduled for Thursday, June 1.
In another fixture, Senegal will play Mexico in Thursday’s final three matches of the last 16 and a winner will set up a quarter-final match against England on Monday, June 5.
Featured Photo: EPA
