Chipolopolo Boys head coach Avram Grant opened up about delayed flights and lack of friendly games as part of the reason his team lost in their opening match of the ongoing 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) tournament.
The former Chelsea gaffer was also quick to congratulate Democratic Republic of Congo for how well they fought to win the match. Grant admitted that his side did not play well.
The Israeli gaffer revealed that the match against the Leopards was the first time the locally assembled Chipolopolo Boys squad were playing together and did not play any friendly games before the tournament.
“I want to say congratulations to Congo, they fought very well today, and they deserved the win,” he said.
“As for us, we didn’t play well. We didn’t play like we wanted to play. But it’s also the first time this group is playing together.”
“We didn’t have friendly games, and we couldn’t even play between ourselves because of problems with the flight we had planned.
“Even our training yesterday was late, at 5:30, which isn’t good for recovery but I don’t want to use it as an excuse but that’s a fact, so all this together we were not at our best today,” he added.
The Chipolopolo Boys will return to action on Sunday when they face off with Angola who are desperate for a win after managing only a single point from their opening two games.
Grant is however confident that his side will do better in the second game.
“I believe in the next game we will be better, I believe it will be good. We will be playing our second game together so I believe it will be good. I said to the players that nothing finishes in the first game whether we win or lose. We need to show that we are strong in the next game,” he said.
“We didn’t move the ball well, and we didn’t defend well. The first goal came from a throw-in where we were not marked properly (the people who were supposed to mark were sleeping) , and the second came from us losing the ball too easily in the back four.”
“We lost too many balls cheaply, and that’s not the game of Zambia, obviously Zambia has very technical players. We need to play to our strengths,” he added.
The gaffer feels DR Congo did not create a lot of chances but they were clinical hence winning the match.
“We had good chances late on, very good chances, but we missed. Congo didn’t create many, but they were clinical and finished well. So they won the game, this is what happened .They scored very well,” he said.
“First we did not play well, but I think the effect of not having friendly games, we did not play a game we planned ourselves but this is finished we can’t change.”
Grant believes nothing is decided after the first game and what’s important now is how the team will respond.
“I told the players before the tournament, nothing is decided in the first game, whether you win or lose. What matters is how we respond. There’s still a chance, and we must show we are strong,” he said.
“This game is finished. We cannot change the result, but we can learn. I want to see the right mentality.”
“We spoke about this before, now it’s time to show it. Of course they are sad, they need to be sad after losing but we’ll wake up tomorrow and think about the next game. I’m already thinking about the next game,” he added.
