Very emotional day for us knowing we not going to AFCON – Patson Daka

Zambia National team striker Patson Daka says Monday’s win over Zimbabwe was emotional because the team will not be going to the Africa Cup of Nations despite beating the Warriors.

Daka who netted a brace on Monday evening in Harare believes the positive result is good for the team morale going forward.

He feels the team still has a lot of work to do and the coach is the best person to guide them.

“Despite us winning, it’s a very emotional day for us knowing that we couldn’t go to the Africa Cup. It’s one thing that we wanted. We were looking forward to it but unfortunately it was not the plan from God,” Daka lamented.

“We just have to accept what has happened. I think today we have shown that we did not come to play. We came to give our best to the nation and played as a team. At the end of the day, we got a positive result which was important for us going forward as a team,” he added.

“From the word go we have been looking forward to the world cup qualifiers. Today’s game (Monday’s game) was part of the process. We made sure that it gave us the direction going forward. We know we have a lot of things to work on and the coach is the best to bring up those and we just have to work together as a team and follow the coach’s instructions,” he concluded.

Zambia finished third in Group H after only managing seven points from six games. The Copper bullets recorded two wins, a draw and three losses. Daka finished the qualifiers as Zambia’s top goalscorer with five goals despite only playing three games.

The Chipolopolo boys will begin their World Cup qualifiers in May, as they aim to make a debut appearance at the global showpiece. Zambia is in group B alongside Tunisia, Mauritania, and Equatorial Guinea.