Phiri first played for Chawama Youth Club before joining Zambian Second Division side Barclays Bank F.C. in the late eighties. He then joined Zanaco F.C., a club on the rise in 1990. When most of the Zambia national team was wiped out in the horrific air crash off the coast of Gabon in April 1993, Phiri was one of the goalkeepers called to the newly constituted team and he made his debut in a friendly against Malawi on 22 May 1993. Standing at almost 2m tall, he starred as Zambia just missed out on a World Cup place and settled for a place at the 1994 African Cup of Nations finals. At the end of the year, he was voted Zambian Footballer of the Year, an award which he won again the following year. At the CAN 1994 finals, Zambia defied the odds and went all the way to the final where they were pipped by Nigeria's Super Eagles 2-1.