Chipolopolo stand-in coach Aggrey Chiyangi says the team is ready for tonight’s Cameroon 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match against current defending champions Algeria in Blida.
Chiyangi told the ZamFoot Crew that the team is ready for the clash and stressed that the confidence among the players in camp is very high.
Chiyangi said the team is ready for the match against the Desert Foxes to be played at the Mustapha Stadium
“The team is ready to take on Algeria and the confidence amongst the players is very high. All of them are ready and we are hoping for a better result,” Chiyangi said.
Chiyangi revealed that the technical bench is aware that the Chipolopolo Boys have missed two consecutive AFCONS and the team is determined to qualify to the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon.
“So far we have missed the two AFCONs, we have to make sure that in this one we qualify because it will bring a lot of happiness to the people of Zambia,” he said.
During the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Zambia got the better of Algeria by beating them home and away with Zambia being the last team to beat the Desert Foxes at their backyard.
Chiyangi said he was aware that Algeria will come attacking the Zambian and remained adamant to reveal the tactical approach of the team to the ZamFoot Crew, keeping the cards under his sleeves ahead of the match.
“The gameplay will unfold on the pitch. Just like they have that thought (to win) on their mind, we also have another thought that we have missed the last two Afcons, we must work hard,” he said.
The match will be played at the Stade Mustapha Tchakar in Blida which has proved to be a fortress for the Algerian team where they have played more than 30 matches without defeat.
But Chiyangi said the team was not intimidated by the record of the Algerian team at the stadium and remained optimistic anything can happen in Thursday’s clash.
“In football, anything can happen and everything has got a time that it starts, you never know it might be this time,” a confident Chiyangi said.
Chiyangi who has the full squad that he summoned warned Algeria against underrating the Chipolopolo Boys and expressed confidence in the squad to put up a good fight and get a positive result.
“The message to Algeria is that we know that they are the African Champions but again they must know that this is a new competition that is starting, they won the last AFCON. This one is starting. We are here to compete,” Chiyangi said.
Zambia will play the Desert Foxes at 21:00Hrs (CAT) before hosting their COSAFA nemesis Zimbabwe on Tuesday at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.
