Silky Chipolopolo cruised past the Red Devils of Congo in a six goal thriller on match day 1 of the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifier.
Below the ZamFoot Crew takes a look at how the players rated.
Francis Mwansa -6/10– Conceded two goals on the night. Should have done better on the first goal.
Benedict Chepeshi -6/10- Had an okay match.
Dominic Chanda -7.2– Came into the match as Zambia’s fourth choice defender behind Frankie Musonda, Tandi Mwape and Stopilla Sunzu.
He showed gritty and composure.
Stopilla Sunzu -7/10– Was beaten for pace once but apart from that Sunzu didn’t put a foot wrong.
His experience and aerial strength was vital.
Rodrick Kabwe – 5-5- The Congolese exploited his lack of pace. Should have defended better with first goal.
Benson Sakala – 5.7- Struggled in the holding role. Failed to protect the back four and didn’t offer anything going forward.
Was replaced by Clatous Chama.
Emmanuel Banda – 6.8- Provided an assist for Patson’s Daka goal. Looked good whenever Zambia was in possession but struggled on the defensive side.
Should have tracked better.
Kings Kangwa -6.8- Had a quiet first half and only came alive in the second half.
For Zambia to be a dominate team, Kings and Emmanuel Banda need to step up more.
The midfield gave to much space and was too porous.
Fashion Sakala -8.2- MaFasho seems like he has matured.
He was a constant threat down the left flank.
Scored and provided an assist.
Lameck Banda – 8.6- The beast showed why he is rubbing and scoring goals against the likes of AC Milan.
With Zambia trailing 2-1, the 22 year old showed his power, pacy and aggression to drag Zambia to victory.
His first half performance was like a man on fire or possessed.
Found an equaliser at the stroke of half time and provided an assist for MaFasho in the second half.
Was replaced by Edward Chilufya late in the game.
Patson Daka -8/10- Daka simply can’t stop scoring!
Scored a brace to take his tally to 14 goals in his last 13 matches for Zambia.
He is irreplaceable.
Substitutes
Clatous Chama – 6/10– With the scores tied at 2-2, Grant looked up to Triple C for salvation.
For close to 7 minutes, it looked liked the Mwamba Wa Lusaka show but after Zambia scored the third goal, he faded..
The 32 year old showed tactical naivety as he failed to track down the Congolese holding midfielder and at some point forced Daka to drop into midfield to cover him.
With Zambia leading 4-2, Chama drifted wide left after MaFasho was substituted.
Edward Chilufya -6.3- Tiger gave Zambia an out let on the right flank.
Golden Mafweta – Not rated. Replaced MaFasho late in the game.
Avram Grant -8/10- Again showed why he is a top manager with his substitution.
He will be first one to acknowledge that Stopilla Sunzu led back four lacks pace and quality.
Going forward, Zambia also needs about two quality midfielders as well as another centre forward to complement Daka.
On the flanks, there’s need for another top tier winger like Lameck Banda and Fashion Sakala.
What ??have you guys changed who writes these ratings??I would rate this 3 out of 10.By the way write rating even when we lose