Sakala breaks 12-years hatrick drought for Zambia

Rangers football club striker Fashion Sakala yesterday became the ninth Zambian player to score a hatrick for the senior men’s national team.

It took 12-years for the country to record a hatrick in the senior chipolopolo team when Sakala carried home the match ball in a Qatar world cup qualifiers match that saw Zambia thrash Mauritania 4-0 at the national heroes stadium to revive their slim chance of qualifying to the playoffs.

The last Zambian to score a hatrick for the senior national team was former TP Mazembe striker Given Singuluma at the 2009 CAF African cup of nations championship.

BELOW IS A LIST OF ZAMBIAN PLAYERS THAT SCORED A HATRICK FOR THE SENIOR TEAM:

1972-Fred Mwila
1985-Bernard Chanda
1985-Micheal Chabala
1993-Kelvin Mutale
1996-Kalushya Bwalya
2004-Collins Mbesuma
2007-Christopher Katongo
2009-Given Singuluma
2021-Fashion Sakala

Sakala has now scored five(5) international goals and made three(3) assists in fifteen (15) appearances for the Zambian senior national team since his debut in 2017.

Meanwhile his team mate and Leicester city striker Patson Daka who has been Zambia’s most consistent goal scorer also scored his eighth (8) senior national team international goal and made his third(3) assists in sixteen(16) appearances for the chipolopolo.

Daka is now Zambia’s active national team player with the most goals and now racing towards breaking the country’s all time score Godfrey Ucar Chitalu. Who scored 79 international goals and ranks as Africa’s international goal scorer of all times.