The Zambia national team revived their hopes of qualifying to the Morocco 2015 Africa Cup of Nations finals with a precious 3 – 0 victory over Niger in a game played at Levy Stadium.
Goals from Rainford Kalaba, Emmanuel Mayuka and goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene were enough to ease the pressure on coach Honour Janza who has come under fire after a dismal start to the qualifying campaign.
The Chipolopolo put away the turmoil in camp which saw the captain Chris Katongo expelled from the team to put up a more inspired performance from the start as they pressed the visitors.
Mayuka made Zambia’s intentions clear when he showed skill in the 2nd minute to make space for himself in the box but blasted wide.
Zambia continued to cause problems for Niger but they failed to hit the target as they continued to lose balls carelessly in midfield.
Janza then withdrew U20 winger Charles Zulu for Chisamba Lungu in the 36th minute who slotted into the central midfield as Kalaba pushed wide. This allowed Zambia to play more through the middle.
However, despite showing the initiative going forward, Zambia only had their first shot on target in the 42nd minute when Mayuka turned his marker in to shoot tamely from outside the box.
Zambia went into the second half with their foot on the pedal. With the full backs venturing forward and Nyambe Mulenga making in-roads through the middle the Nigeriens seemed unsettled and look like they would buckle anytime.
Zambia finally made the break through on the hour mark when Kalaba pounced on a long speculative ball from the right which the keeper misjudged to head home in an open goal.
Zambia continued to press and could have gone ahead earlier but they had to wait until the 73rd minute when Mayuka emphatically finished from a Singuluma square ball which kindly hang in the air for him to blast from close range the cross bounced off the defender.
Janza then rested Bruce Musakanya and Mayuka for Fwayo Tembo and Jacob Mulenga after the 80th minute.
Singuluma then trapped well in the box and shielded the ball before he was hacked from behind in the box for Mweene to convert the resultant penalty on 88 minutes.
Zambia now move to 5 points and will anxiously await results from the Cape Verde v Mozambique.
Zambia XI:
- Kennedy Mweene 13. Stopilla Sunzu 18. Emmanuel Mbola 5. Nyambe Mulenga 6. Donashano Malama 14. Nathan Sinkala 15. Given Singuluma 9. Emmanuel Mayuka (Jacob Mulenga) 8. Bruce Musakanya (Fwayo Tembo) 11. Charles Zulu (Chisamba Lungu) 17. Rainford Kalaba
We have won but I still fear for the Maputo game. we need a win from there for us to make it. Niger will do us a favour in the last game coz they will be looking for a home win.
However, the best favour is for us to win in Maputo and CV at home.
They will soon start the talking.
hahahaha kwabena say it again thy will start blaabing very soon
THE MAPUTO JOB NEEDS KAGWA AND MUKUKA MULENGA PLUS LUBAMBE MUSONDA.
Good thing is Janza said hes monitoring MUkuka, Nkausu and Bornwel Mwape. These have upped their game and thats the only way to deal with Mozambique.
Am not convinced. janza to me looks ideales. wait until we go to maputo and then face the tactiful superior capeverd
We nid a coach..we can’t run away frm this
Actually its mayuka who scored th second goal not give
This is indeed gud. We just need to keep up the same spirit and win the remaining games, then we can be on the safe side.
This scoreline is flattering and does not reflect the lack of quality in terms of Zambia’s performace. The first goal did not come from a well worked systematic move but from a hopeful ball hoofed from the right wing and Kalaba headed it in. The second goal was from a goal mouth scramble. The third goal was from a dubious penalty. The play was uncoordinated and the players dont seem to know their positions and how to make movements off the ball.
you are spot-on bro…spot-on.
I agree, there seems to be no system we are currently using. Only in the cape verde game did we seem to develop one after chris came on. We seriously need a coach !!!
as long as the goals counted that’s what matters. If anything, most well crafted moves don’t end in goals.
You are spot on!The team does not have the tactical discipline .
Am happy we ve won but I strongly feel Sate sate was suppose to be given a chance
Well done Chipolopolo at least we have hope, for the 2015 afcon, Janza should continue working and polish the diamond that has been cut. Still we need a lot of work.
Zambia is far from being a team that can qualify for 2015 Afcon thats the reality.
No one to make that killer pass
A bit of relief good game.gaps in the midfield we need a box to box midfielder bigger teams would have given us problems right back position needs to be worked on impressive play in the wide areas .dead ball situations we are pathetic no free kick specialist in the team maybe ngonga can do the job he needs to be told to work hard otherwise good win .
Chris was a good guy but I think it shows that he was becoming more of a bully to the youngsters
That’s th problem wt zambians we dnt want to appreciate where neccesary,th coach rang some changes we kod for,he also made th tactical change on lungu for zulu,its jst th player who nid to step up…mozambique game is another talk for another day
Thank you C. Katongo for leaving the national team. Now we can move on
Good one
congo 4 ivory coast3
I agree with Papa entirely. Our team is still lacking system-wise. We played in panic mode and were not sure of how to get the goals. Zambian football is a passing football system and the long balls we played in first half and partly in the second is unlike us. I think we need to work on the player to fit in the hole, a number 8 who is combative with that defense splinting pass for us to look good on the pitch. I think we should be concerned.
Collins!
Kekeke monsieur Renard and Patrice aren’t winning with the sexie team? Hahaha
It is turning out to be Johns wish list in Ivory Coast. kekeke
Even if we qualify, we shall need an experienced expertrait coach. We have abandant talent, we just need someone to nature that talent & work on cordination.
Youth coach from Barcelona!
Herve Renard beaten at home again! Don’t know if this time around he will be spared! These Guys are not used to these kind of results!
Well DON Zambia and the technical bench not ba FAZ
80′ Cape Verde 1 Mozambique 0
ghanains they r bak. a big sting on their necks wen ever Zambia wins. dont make me come to gsn and start teasing u guys.
Congo dr ndombolo wasombo good game lads.This is the result which will make my night more than the zambia one, which was obvious
Am not impressed with the win. A lot of players need to up their game. That street boy Zulu, Mbola, Malama should not be in the team. Jacob and Fwayo should have come on earlier on. Herve Renard has swallowed a dose of his own counter attacking football he introduced for Zambia to win the afcon. The Congolese were good, the number 11and 9, I wouldn’t want to meet them.Renard feeling the heat.
Congrats chipolopolo and to all the funs, We can see and it has shown that we have talents in the local league,the team is great, but they look lost,not motivated , like they are couching themselves. As for Mayuka , i wonder why he cant watch his movements, all the time he is offside, friends fight for the ball behind, him killing with his offsides. we really need a new couch for afcon.Zambia is a great team we would win that game by 5 if ther was a expeienced couch
@paradox,u r always welcam on GSN abi its not locked,uve been there all these while wen this site nosedived,so wat makes the difference with uor presence there,but u shd have noticed hw ghanaian soccer fans dont biz abt GSN so imagine hw much uor teasing will pinch,jst like a needle in a haysack ,if i may answer u.Anyways congrats on uor sweating win against those west african minnows!
ok but gsn is very boring. how do u guys cope up with it.
ba zed trying 2 found the game between cap v vs mozamb
We are second on the log Cape V 9 points Zambia 5 points Mozambique 5 and Niger 2 points. Will pull through we just need to polish the cut diamond.
Mayuka played well….He was much more effective than Jacob and Chamanga combined
congrat’s ba zambia,keep up with the same spirit
thx germiston south for the update
Its about time for Mayuka, hopefully this will give him some much needed confidence.
@minñows and kwabena pisto,a win is a win and worth celebrating. you guys have been following our football very well and you know how it has gone low.Today’s win maybe the turning point.It will give the guys the lost confidence going in the next game.Pliz let us celebrate this long awaited 3-0
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That goal is for Mayuka shake nr 9. Mayuka is a gud player still young and gave Nigerians headache. Mayuka please just leave England.and get game time within europe
Thank goodness for that. First half seemed terrible, long balls disjointed play, awful stuff. Second half the tempo picked up and there was bola panshi. We got our slices of luck through sustained pressure and that is the way it should be. Young guys on field means we should have the pace and im glad we showed it. It was much more fluent at that speed and intesity.
But this is just 1 match in the qualifiers and we must not get too ahead of ourselfs as we still have along way to go before we can qualify and represent restpectfully. It wont be easy finishing.
But one very good thing seen today is the prospect of a younger Zambian team and that is tantalising but the young guys have to keep the drive, belief and intensity and focus to go all the way. If its not there then things can fall apart quickly. The coach did good but there are many more tests to come if he can keep his place.
Guys today was a good win but let’s not be blinded by this evening’s result. Our team is still not strong enough to beat Mozambique at home. We need to renforce it and fire Janza..
Don’t worry guys the Maputo job will be a done deal. Janza should bring in Lubambo for this tie.
The win and the three points should never get to our heads. We got the desired results because were moving forward in numbers, including defenders. If we were playing against a team with quick counter attacks, we could have easily got hit. We should not forget that one of our failures is lack of consistency.
I expected Janza to have talked to this boy Charles Zulu who plays like he is alone on the pitch and wastes his energy unnecessarily. Someone should remind him playing for the national team is not like playing for, probably the oldest and toughest tournament in the country, the Chawama Xmas tournament.
I watched the First Half and at halftime went for a church meeting. Just finished watching 2nd half as I had the match recorded.
We not celebrating yet. Great and motivating win for the boys after a bad start. I hope the coach will continue growing boys like B. Musakanya and C. Zulu.
We need to plan for the Maputo job. Last time we played there we won in 2011 in AFCON qualifier.
@Rok I hear you on C. Zulu. He is a 20 year old who is full of energy and just played his 2nd game for the Senior team. He needs guidance. C. Ronaldo when he came to Manchester was also a nuisance. Robby Keane almost clapped him but with team he matured. Let’s give this boy time. He will grow.
There is nothing to be expected about this win. This was expected. Niger is one of the weakest west African teams that we have ever played in 50 years! We should have beaten this POOR Niger team home and away. For me Janza still looks clueless and he is tactically inept. The team lacks identity and character. Most of the players were disjointed and uncoordinated. The crucial match is the one in Maputo. We have to win that match at all costs for us to stand a chance of qualifying though i don’t see that happening!
We need a tactician like Bonetti to win in MAPUTO. Janza is pathetic and USELESS. We can’t win there with him at the helm.
u r 20 times more pathetic & useless than the pepo u call useless
All of a sudden Heineken is sweet to the tongue.
Still too much talking … a win is a win and lets move .. Moz Vs Zam remains 50-50 and one shud say Zambia cannot win … football is always interesting … remember Niger drew with Moz at home, Moz beat Cape verde which had earlier beaten Niger 1-3??? so in terms of good analysis top three teams have an equal chance with CV having a slight edge … Zambia GO and Conquer … Shalom
Good 3 points which the team/country badly needed,Congrats boys! The performance was better than the last two games though far much less for the standard of zambian soccer.Let’s no get carried away with this win, we need an experinced coach NOT Janza and his crop chintu kampamba.The Afcon qualifiers stil tricky looking at our last 2 opponents perfomance.Good luck chipolopolo
Zambia vs Nigel: What we learned
It was a welcome victory for a coach and team in desperate need of a dosage of confidence. The three unanswered goals were crucial as goal difference may eventually come into play to decide who goes through.
Despite the victory though, here are my humble observations that I feel were evident from this match.
1. This result shouldn’t hide the fact that Zambia won without playing well. We were uncomfortable in possession and hesitant when without the ball. Our defence looked anything but resolute. On several occasions they were left seriously exposed due to lack of a commanding figure in the holding role.
2. The first half I felt sorry for the fans that paid to watch this match. It was dull, lacked purpose and cohesion. Again one wonders what the game plan was as Zambia kept sending long balls hoping to find Mayuka. This did not work owing to the diminutive nature of most if not all of our players compared to players from Nigel. You’d think the coach would’ve done his homework after meeting the same opponents just few days ago. The first 45 mins were played almost in slow motion due to lack of pace especially on the flanks. (Not sure if the pitch was heavy or because of the uneven surface that always makes it difficult to control the ball).
3. Zambia needs to have a technical bench that comprises of goalkeeping coach, defensive coach, and attacking coach. Our two full backs were dormant and provided next to zero help going forward. On many occasions Kalaba was found just outside the penalty area hoping to have the right back bombarding forward to provide an option but it never happened. Our full backs need to know the art of modern day defending. Take time to watch the likes of Ashley Cole, Evra, Alves, Zabaleta, Rafael etc etc
4. The captaincy and vice captaincy has come way too soon for Sunzu and Sinkala. Sunzu is a decent player but from time to time he shows alarming signs of poor decision making in one-on-one situations. (He got away with what could’ve easily been a penalty for Nigel in the first half. Thankfully the Nigel player didn’t go down in the box). His commitment to Zambia is unquestionable as is Sinkala’s. I just feel Zambia needs a leader who is confident, vocal, decisive and reliable. And in my view, the pair of Kennedy Mweene and Rainford Kalaba fits the bill for captain and vice-captain respectively.
5. Our players need to work on their physic. There are too many softies in the team and opponents seem to have a field day bullying our boys around.
6. Watching teams like the resurgent RSA, Cameroon and Ghana only points to why Zambia seriously needs more and more players to try and break into the European leagues. Our players need exposure that comes from competing against the best in club fooball on a weekly basis if we are going to produce quality players.
Overall, this was sweet victory for mother Zambia and congratulations to the lads.
Congrats guys. You have to beat Mozambique in Maputo since Cape Verde have already qualified for Afcon2015.
All the best
Win but janza needs to go and all this rubbish of freshblood also needs to go. The team played useless and very disjontly. I don’t know what Bruce was doing in da game he looked lost to me. Mbola for th first time had a gud game. Given was also lost in th first half. Zulu gay take him to th under 23 let him mature. Bring matured young players like Evans and Labambo M. Please let’s look for other coach asp.
With capeverd already through, the match against mozambique is going to be the determiner. i dont see zambia going through
Zambia cannot beat any serious team away from home, Cape verde and Mozambique will go through. Look at how u r sweating in this cheap group, how can u qualify to the world cup? U like talking outside the pitch, trust me, your last two games will end in a draw and Mozambique will beat Niger to qualify.
Hahaha the first country to be independent and the first time to qualify at the worldcup in 2006 take a chill pill.
Congrats to the lads. Finally a win in the qualifiers. Lets take each game as it comes. Talk of planning for CV and not Moz who lost and are third on 5points as well.
The team needs alot of work and hope the two friendlies next week will help.
Some you guys talk too much Zambia will qualify for afcon 2015. I said it Mayuka is a lethal striker and he will score. The national team should be built around Mayuka. Evans Kangwa and sate sate are the strikers who should partner mayuka. Janza was useless at the beginning because he was finding his feet and formations once he gets to find a formula zambia will be on fire. Dont talk too much. Meanwhile useless renard continues his pathetic performance.
Zambia is going through you people talk too much Mozambique is a weak team. A pathetic weak team Mayuka will tear them apart.
Zambia is one of the strongest teams in africa with talent like lubambo musonda, evans kangwa, sate sate etc these boys once injected into the national team will make the team stronger. Janza is just warming up most of you will keep quiet.
John has a point. Build the strike force around Mayuka, Evans Kangwe and Sate Sate. In midfield, fuse in Lubambo Musonda, continue building Charles Zulu slowly. The rest will be TOTAL FOOTBALL!
Well done ba zed lets plan the downfall of CV now, no time for takataka and the PHD people.
Well done Chipolopolo! However, looking at the way we played and the calibre of the team we played against I personally feel we are not there. If we shall be comfortable with that display and fold our arms and take it to Maputo or indeed against Cabo Verde then we shall be in for a rude shock. We seriously need to up our game. I wonder what could be the problem. It pains to notice the quality in other teams e.g. the way Nigeria played against the Sudan and the way Congo Brazzaville matched South Africa in their own backyard punch for punch. Above all I think the coach is contributing to this “tosh” display of football coz you may agree with me that the short stint we were under Patrice the team showed quality and a lot of potential meaning there was a good feeling amongst the players which this Patrice may have been inducing. Honour Janza is appearing to be a wrong choice for coaching our National Team I am afraid.
Are you aware that if Zambia loses to Mozambique, then we will definitely be OUT of the Africa Cup?
According to BBC:
The head-to-head rule will be used to split teams who finish level on points.
i.e. if Mozambique beats Zambia, they will have 8 points and Zambia will remain on 5 points. Even if Zambia
Keshi fired because of the following results
Nigeria 2 vs 2 Italy
Nigeria 0 vs 0 Mexico
Nigeria 2 vs 2 Scotland
Nigeria 0 vs 0 Greece
USA 2 vs 1 Nigeria
Nigeria 0 vs 0 Iran
Nigeria 1 vs 0 Bosnia
Nigeria 2 vs 3 Argentina
Nigeria 0 vs 2 france
Nigeria 2 vs 3 Congo
South Africa 0 vs 0 Nigeria
Sudan 1 vs 0 Nigeria
Nigeria 3 vs 1 Sudan
Only 2 wins since Ethiopia games a year ago
Takataka teams like Niger are hard to play against as they have system. I think its good morale booster that we won & by three goals. From here on with good planning, things can only get better.
Our team won Afcon 2012 largely due to it’s unmatched team spirit. Janza in his short spell has injected division & tension in the squad. He has not given enough respect to the senior players and lacks tact or diplomacy. He looks a fearful character which is there for all to see on his face when he stands on the touchline & he’s projecting it onto the players. He’s poor at reading the game as could be seen his substitutions. Given was having an offf day and he completed the match. He brought on Fwayo when the tempo of the match was increasing knowing fully well that he’s not quick and was laacking finess. Donashano Malama is clearly not wing back material. He’s too heavy & lacks creativity. Kalaba is not good at set pieces and I wonder why coaches allow him to continue taking them. Kalaba’s deliveries are always high and lacking in pace. For corners and free kicks, you need them to be curved and at high pace (bend it like Beckham). Chisamba Lungu is no better than Kalaba on set pieces. Mbola also can’t trap the ball. He lost four balls when he was wide and free. Very frustrating. It is also clear that Sinkala’s move to Switzerland has not improved his game. Loans are not always the best for players.
Are you aware that if Zambia loses to Mozambique, then we will definitely be OUT of the Africa Cup?
According to BBC:
The head-to-head rule will be used to split teams who finish level on points.
i.e. if Mozambique beats Zambia, they will have 8 points and Zambia will remain on 5 points. Even no matter what margin Zambia might win their last game, Mozambique would qualify to the Africa and Zambia would be OUT.
John, u will not qualify, u can’t beat Mozambique away. Your best is a draw
Football is taken one game at a time. Niger is 1 down- 2 to go.
So far so good.
Keshi’s sacking opens up an opportunity for Amokachi I guess.