Junior Chipolopolo beat Portugal 5-2 to win the FIFA Under-15 World Cup Tier B title in Baku

Zambia's under-15 national team, the Junior Chipolopolo, beat Portugal 5-2 in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday to win the Tier B title at the inaugural FIFA Under-15 World Cup and Festival. Maxen Msimuko scored a hat-trick in the final. Benson and Thomson scored one goal each, and Samuel Musonda hit the crossbar. Earlier in the tournament Zambia beat Montserrat 13-0. The tournament brought together almost 3,000 players from 189 national teams across all six confederations. Teams were drawn into 32 groups, with group winners going to Tier A and runners-up to Tier B. In all, 932 matches were played and 4,505 goals scored, an average of 4.83 a game. Four African nations reached the finals across the tiers: Zambia, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Tunisia. Four European sides, Belarus, Czechia, Portugal and Spain, also qualified, along with Bangladesh and Tajikistan from Asia, Canada from North and Central America and New Zealand from Oceania. About 554 of the players came from 52 FIFA Talent Academies. Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Keith Mweemba congratulated the team and said the association wants to see a "good transition" of the Junior Chipolopolo. ## Why it matters A title at a FIFA event gives a lift to the boys and to the clubs and schools they come from. The harder test comes over the next few years, when players of this age often fall away for lack of coaching, matches and money. FAZ's talk of a good transition is about keeping them in the system as they move up to the older age-group teams. ## What happens next FAZ president Keith Mweemba says the association wants a good transition for the squad as the players move up to the older age-group teams. Source: News Diggers, Ulande Nkomesha, 31 October 2026, 08:10 (Africa/Lusaka). Link: <https://diggers.news/goal-diggers/2026/10/31/junior-chipolopolo-crowned-champions-as-faz-assures-transition/>