….Grant happy with progress after playing Egypt, Uganda
By MICHAEL MIYOBA
ZAMBIA national team coach Avram Grant says he is happy with the progress made by the Chipolopolo boys who ended their United Arab Emirates tour with a 3-0 victory over Uganda on Tuesday night.
A brace from Patson Daka and a goal from Fashion Sakala gave Zambia the needed victory to recover from the 1-0 defeat to Egypt on October 12.
Grant who was impressed with how the team performed said the Chipolopolo was able to achieve the objectives during the two friendly matches played against Egypt and Uganda in the UAE.
“We have achieved a lot. I’m a man of process and I need to time to process and this camp we were able to achieve all the objectives,” Grant said.
“Our objective is that the team will be stronger and stronger and as I said we want to do everything to ensure that we win the first games in the world cup qualifiers and do well at the Africa Cup even though we have a very tough group and also now we are a team that is hard to beat,” he said.
Grant said he was ready for selection “headache” after a great performance from some Chipolopolo players such as Zephenia Phiri who made his first full debut in Chipolopolo colours and contributed two assists as Zambia thumped Uganda.
Asked if he now has the first team after assessing almost everyone in the squad, Grant said; “I never think about the best 11. I think we have a clear system and that is more important. With the system we have we take the players that are in good shape.”
And Chipolopolo striker Fashion Sakala believes the Chipolopolo boys are ready to compete against any team after impressing during the October FIFA window.
Sakala said playing Egypt and Uganda in the two friendly matches presented a tough test for the Chipolopolo boys ahead of the World Cup qualifiers and the AFCON slated for January 2024.
Meanwhile, Patson Daka has cautioned the team not to be complacent after brushing aside Uganda.
Daka said the Chipolopolo will have to continue working hard to maintain their great form.
“I can’t say that we are more prepared because every day is a different challenge, every day we have to continue preparing hard because the way we played against Uganda doesn’t mean that we are ready to play the next month’s games so we need to continue working hard each and every day,” Daka said.
Zambia’s next fixtures will be back to back 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Congo Brazzaville and Niger on November 13 and 20 respectively.
