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Zambianational football team record

352
Wins
202
Draws
232
Defeats

786 matches, 1946 to 2026TFN Elo rating 1558, 92nd in the world

Zambia have played 786 internationals since 1946: 352 wins, 202 draws and 232 defeats. Their most frequent opponent is Malawi, with 76 meetings. Their biggest win is 11–2 against Eswatini in a friendly on 5 February 1978.

Zambia's record

Overall record
MatchesPlayedWonDrawnLostGoalsWin rate
All7863522022321206–84745%
Competitive472217119136688–47046%
Friendlies3141358396518–37743%
At home2531546237510–21461%
Away32310980134395–40734%
Neutral venues210896061301–22642%

Record against every opponent

Zambia have played 73 different national teams. Opponents with a head-to-head page are linked.

Record by opponent
OpponentPWDLGoalsLast met
Malawi76411619159–632023
Zimbabwe5721211574–682021
Kenya492461991–622020
Uganda4320101358–522023
Tanzania361812662–332025
DR Congo301111843–472024
South Africa2287721–212025
Sudan22134537–192021
Egypt21441320–352023
Morocco21621318–282025
Mozambique21153339–122018
Botswana20124429–112022
Ethiopia19116229–122017
Namibia1889123–72022
Algeria1753913–242026
Angola1757515–142025
Nigeria1736816–192017
Cameroon1637627–292024
Lesotho1595129–102023
Senegal1556416–132022
Tunisia1533913–242021
Congo1384127–122023
Eswatini1383242–92021
Madagascar1382320–112018
Ivory Coast1262412–112024
Ghana1050512–102015
Gabon952211–62018
Mauritius972020–62004
Togo940510–122026
Rwanda852110–42015
Libya723211–92012
Comoros642011–42025
Mali62319–52025
Benin50326–102022
Burundi52218–72013
Niger51225–42025
Saudi Arabia51135–61999
Somalia550024–32013
Burkina Faso42208–22013
Chad42204–12024
Guinea42028–102006
Guinea-Bissau41125–62018
India430111–32011
Seychelles431011–32023
Sierra Leone43109–22024
South Korea42028–102012
Cape Verde31112–22015
Cyprus33009–01971
Equatorial Guinea31112–32021
Jamaica31116–61995
Oman30211–31998
Cuba2–0 (1977), 0–1 (1977)21012–11977
Djibouti3–0 (2008), 6–0 (2009)22009–02009
Ecuador1–4 (1995), 0–1 (1995)20021–51995
Gambia2–0 (1998), 0–0 (2016)21102–02016
Israel0–0 (1954), 2–4 (2022)20112–42022
Kuwait1–2 (1997), 0–4 (2010)20021–62010
Liberia1–0 (2004), 5–0 (2005)22006–02005
Mauritania2–1 (2021), 4–0 (2021)22006–12021
Russia0–4 (1991), 0–5 (2025)20020–92025
Yemen2–2 (2004), 1–0 (2010)21103–22010
Argentina0–5 (2026)10010–52026
Brazil0–2 (2013)10010–22013
Chile0–3 (2010)10010–32010
China3–3 (1972)10103–31972
Honduras1–7 (1999)10011–71999
Hungary1–4 (1991)10011–41991
Iran2–3 (2008)10012–32008
Iraq1–3 (2022)10011–32022
Japan3–4 (2014)10013–42014
Jordan0–1 (2013)10010–12013
North Korea4–1 (2009)11004–12009
Norway0–0 (2013)10100–02013

Biggest wins and heaviest defeats

Biggest wins

  1. v EswatiniFriendly, 5 Feb 197811–2 for Zambia
  2. v KenyaCECAFA Cup, 13 Nov 19789–0 for Zambia
  3. v MalawiFriendly, 26 Mar 19778–1 for Zambia
  4. v MalawiFriendly, 2 Sept 19697–0 for Zambia
  5. at KenyaFriendly, 13 Dec 19648–2 for Zambia

Heaviest defeats

  1. at DR CongoFriendly, 22 Nov 19691–10 for Zambia
  2. at HondurasFriendly, 16 Dec 19991–7 for Zambia
  3. at ArgentinaFriendly, 31 Mar 20260–5 for Zambia
  4. at RussiaFriendly, 25 Mar 20250–5 for Zambia
  5. at AlgeriaAfrica Cup of Nations qualifying, 14 Nov 20190–5 for Zambia

Latest results

  1. v TogoAfrica Cup of Nations qualifying, 29 Sept 20262–0 for Zambia
  2. at AlgeriaAfrica Cup of Nations qualifying, 25 Sept 20261–3 for Zambia
  3. at ArgentinaFriendly, 31 Mar 20260–5 for Zambia
  4. at MoroccoAfrica Cup of Nations, 29 Dec 20250–3 for Zambia
  5. v ComorosAfrica Cup of Nations, 26 Dec 20250–0 for Zambia
  6. v MaliAfrica Cup of Nations, 22 Dec 20251–1 for Zambia
  7. at AngolaFriendly, 18 Nov 20252–3 for Zambia
  8. at South AfricaFriendly, 15 Nov 20251–3 for Zambia
  9. v NigerWorld Cup qualifying, 12 Oct 20250–1 for Zambia
  10. at TanzaniaWorld Cup qualifying, 8 Oct 20251–0 for Zambia

Zambia's rating through history

The TFN Elo rating rises with wins and falls with defeats, weighted by the opponent’s strength, the margin and the competition.

End of 1946: 1524End of 1947: 1520End of 1948: 1516End of 1950: 1528End of 1951: 1519End of 1952: 1501End of 1953: 1508End of 1954: 1511End of 1957: 1536End of 1958: 1536End of 1963: 1530End of 1964: 1515End of 1965: 1502End of 1966: 1563End of 1967: 1577End of 1968: 1581End of 1969: 1559End of 1970: 1562End of 1971: 1557End of 1972: 1570End of 1973: 1544End of 1974: 1628End of 1975: 1558End of 1976: 1604End of 1977: 1596End of 1978: 1660End of 1979: 1644End of 1980: 1608End of 1981: 1645End of 1982: 1719End of 1983: 1678End of 1984: 1681End of 1985: 1656End of 1986: 1648End of 1987: 1624End of 1988: 1632End of 1989: 1578End of 1990: 1658End of 1991: 1654End of 1992: 1667End of 1993: 1711End of 1994: 1748End of 1995: 1691End of 1996: 1695End of 1997: 1694End of 1998: 1661End of 1999: 1664End of 2000: 1559End of 2001: 1595End of 2002: 1557End of 2003: 1564End of 2004: 1602End of 2005: 1635End of 2006: 1632End of 2007: 1651End of 2008: 1617End of 2009: 1590End of 2010: 1605End of 2011: 1626End of 2012: 1745End of 2013: 1624End of 2014: 1649End of 2015: 1632End of 2016: 1562End of 2017: 1607End of 2018: 1528End of 2019: 1537End of 2020: 1533End of 2021: 1536End of 2022: 1557End of 2023: 1603End of 2024: 1588End of 2025: 1545End of 2026: 1558
Rating at the end of each year. Peak: 1790, reached on 6 April 1994. Hover the chart for any year.

Record by competition

Record by competition
CompetitionPWDLGoals
Friendly3141358396518–377
Africa Cup of Nations qualifying128673130191–111
World Cup qualifying111512139165–108
CECAFA Cup74361721131–80
Africa Cup of Nations7326242384–76
COSAFA Cup6834221297–54
Korea Cup41034–11
Nehru Cup30031–9
Simba Tournament30214–6
COSAFA Cup qualifying22003–0
Four Nations Tournament20112–4
LG Cup20114–6
Zambian Independence Tournament20022–5

Top scorers

  1. 1Kalusha Bwalya19
  2. 2Christopher Katongo10
  3. 3Collins Mbesuma10
  4. 4Godfrey Chitalu8
  5. 5Patson Daka8
  6. 6Bernard Chanda7
  7. 7Dennis Lota7
  8. 8Fashion Sakala7
  9. 9Jacob Mulenga7
  10. 10Harry Milanzi5

Counted from the 164 of 786 matches with scorer records, which are mostly competitive matches, so totals can be lower than official tallies.

Questions answered

When did Zambia play their first international?

On 16 June 1946, a 4–0 win against Zimbabwe in a friendly.

What is Zambia's biggest win?

11–2 against Eswatini in a friendly on 5 February 1978.

What is Zambia's heaviest defeat?

1–10 against DR Congo in a friendly on 22 November 1969.

Who have Zambia played the most?

Malawi: 76 matches, with 41 wins, 16 draws and 19 defeats for Zambia.

What is Zambia's longest winning run?

7 wins in a row, from 20 March 1971 to 18 July 1971.

Former names

  • Northern Rhodesia, 1947 to 1964
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Results through 6 October 2026. Page updated 3 November 2026. How these numbers are calculated.