13.10.2023 | Football in my DNA |
Chipolopolo Boys head coach Avram Grant says Zambia’s draw for theTotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire is very tough.
Grant believes Morocco are the best team in Africa owing to their performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Israeli gaffer however says no draw is easy and that the Chipolopolo will make it difficult for every team they meet.
The former Chelsea boss believes proper preparation is key for the team to do well at the continent’s flagship tournament.
“It’s a very tough draw but any draw is not so easy but this is a very tough draw, Morocco are the best team in Africa, they showed it at the World Cup.
DR Congo is a very good side and Tanzania is improving a lot, I saw them. But our target is that it will be difficult to play against us,” he said.
“We need to do a good preparation and arrange everything on and off the pitch. We need to learn from our mistakes both on and off the pitch. It will be nice to have good preparations for the AFCON and they start now.”
“We have to do a camp, it will be good for us, we want to create a base for the future. We have to do the preparation on a good side, which means, the place will be staying at, the players coming with a free mind, and the staff around, if we do this we will be hard to beat,” he added.
Grant also went on to touch on the international friendly match against Egypt as he felt his side did well including keeping Mohamed Salah at bay.
He went on to also heap praise on the local players who he feels had a very good game.
“What we will try to do is build our team and not think about our opponents. We played yesterday against a top African team and we did very well. We were a bit unlucky but that’s what that game was about. It was a good test and we showed the players that we can compete with any team,” he said.
“The local players did very well despite the league not being like the ones in Europe. The goalkeeper did well, Francis, Chanda, Francis did very well. Am very positive about this.”
The Chipolopolo Boys were drawn in group F alongside Morocco, DR Congo , and Tanzania for theTotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.
Zambia will meet again with Morocco and Tanzania after being drawn in the same group for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The 34th edition of the biennial tournament will kick off on January 13, 2024 and run through to 11 February, 2024.
FULL DRAW :
Group A
Ivory Coast , Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau
Group B
Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, Mozambique
Group C
Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, Gambia
Group D
Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania , Angola
Group E
Tunisia, Mali, South Africa , Namibia
Group F
Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, Tanzania.
Credit: The ZamFoot Crew
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