Chambeshi confirms Chilufya’s absence

Zambia national team head coach Beston Chambeshi says the Chipolopolo Boys are taking the back-to-back Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Mauritania and Tunisia very seriously.

The Copper Bullets boss has also confirmed that winger Edward Chilufya will miss the two matches and has been replaced by Arsenal Tula midfielder, Klings Kangwa.

Chambeshi went on to reveal that Foreign-based players will start trooping in today ahead of Saturday’s clash.

“This is a big week for us and the team is putting in a lot in training, everyone is working. We are just waiting for our foreign-based players to come in then we will see the way forward otherwise we are focused and need these games very much because we want to finish on a good note,” Chambeshi told the ZamFoot Crew after today’s morning training session.

“Every game is important and these are World Cup qualifiers. We are building and working on coordination of the team so it’s an important game for us and the Boys so that we finish on a good position on the table.”

“We will miss Edward (Chilufya) he is a good player, a fast winger, and Thanks to Klings Kangwa who has been playing well at his base which is good for us otherwise we have a replacement for Edward

“As of now we are just waiting for our foreign-based players but I can assure you that by the end of the day we will have at least two or three players. We need them to be in as soon as possible so that we can start preparing the team for Saturday’s game,” he added.

Djurgadens IF has also confirmed that Chilufya sustained an injury over the weekend in the 1-0 win over Halmstads BK.

“We have talked to Edward and evaluated the situation around his current physical status after a long and tough season, where he, for example, played wrapped most recently against Halmstad. Based on those conditions, we have assessed that it is not advisable for Chili to go on national team assignments, and instead, he aims to recover here at Kaknäs- Djurgadens.

Zambia hosts Mauritania on November 13 at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka before trekking away to Tunis for the concluding Group B match three days later.

Tickets for the match are on sale across Shoprite outlets via Computicket and are fetching K30 (South and North Wing), K50 (East Wing), K70 (West Wing), and K250 (VIP).