The Zambia National Soccer team fans have hailed the Chipolopolo boys for their outstanding performance in a 3-1 win of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Lesotho.
In an interview with Lusaka Star, a soccer fan and football analyst Prosper Chaile praised the team and said the game was good as the Chipolopolo boys showed dominance and were able to make a good comeback.
“The boys did very well and the game was very good because the team showed dominance and were able to come back from behind,” he said.
Chaile said the team performed well even from the second group match against Comoros which took place at the National Heroes Stadium last year.
“Even on match-day 2 against the Comoros island, they managed to come back from behind and won by 2-1, so I think that’s positive because Zambia was dominant and did well in all departments which is important,” Chaile said.
However, Chaile called for improvements on the technical bench in terms of making substitutions and further called for more creativity in the mid-field area to create more chances.
Meanwhile, Zambia Football Fans Association (ZFFA) General Secretary Chawezi Katwizi, commended the Chipolopolo team for the win and described it as sweet victory which was well deserved.
“The game was a sweet victory, it was indeed a deserving win considering the situation we are in seeing that we lost the first game in the qualifiers and we needed a win to have realistic chances of qualifying to AFCON after missing three consecutive times,” he said.
Katwizi added that the team played very well despite some of the players barely meeting the coach and not participating in some quality friendly matches.
“Owing to the fact that we have a new coach and some players arrived in camp a day or two before the game and they had no time to play friendly matches as a squad so considering all those situations, the team did well,” Katwizi said
The ZFFA Secretary General also commended how the game was organized noting that it contributed to the team‘s good performance.
The Chipolopolo boys were led to victory against Lesotho with goals from Lameck Banda and Fashion Sakala at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Copperbelt province on 23rd March, 2023.
And the Chipolopolo boys are set to play their next 2023 AFCON qualifiers group H match against Lesotho on 26th March 2023 at Dobsonville Stadium in South Africa.