We are here to Compete, says Under-20 coach

Zambia U-20 national team coach Chisi Mbewe is expecting a tough test in the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations. 

Zambia won the tournament in 2017 but Mbewe does not want to dwell on the past and wants the team to work hard if they are to repeat the achievement of the Patson Daka led squad. 

The Young Chipolopolo will start their campaign tomorrow against Benin at 19:00 Zambian time. 

“I think all the teams will be tough. In football you just have to prepare and be ready for every team in the group,” he said. 

“We don’t need to dwell on the past, this is a different tournament we just need to compete and repeat the achievement of 2017.”

“It won’t be easy but we are here to fight and not just add numbers,” he added. 

Mbewe says the team has been acclimatizing well to the weather in Alexandria since arriving in Egypt after the tour of West Africa. 

The Red Arrows gaffer says the players are fit and ready for the tournament. 

“We have produced a number of top players like Patson Daka, we had Enock Mwepu who retired because of health issues. We have others like Emmanuel Banda, Fashion Sakala Jnr who are all in Europe so even in this tournament we are looking at producing even more top players,” he said. 

“Yes we have a few injuries but not serious. Only Richard ‘Chungi’ Ngoma is injured but we have a replacement for him. The other players had a few knocks but they are fit and ready for selection in tomorrow’s game. 

“In a competition you need to work as a team to achieve your set goals . 

” So far so good, the players are acclimatizing to the weather well. The most important for us is the first game because it will set the tone for our Campaign. We have been reminding the players why we are here and what we want to achieve. We know there are 12 teams here and they are all fighting for one goal to qualify for the World Cup.”

Meanwhile skipper Dominic Kanda revealed that the mood in camp was high and the players are working hard towards the set target of qualifying to the World Cup. 

“Our expectations are qualifying for the World Cup and challenging for the tournament,” he said. 

“The mood is good and everyone is pushing, we are looking forward to the game.”

“The first match is always important and we just need to take it seriously because we need to get the maximum points,” he added. 

Zambia starts its AFCON journey tomorrow (Tuesday) with a match against Benin which kicks off at 19:00 hours (Zambian Time) and will be broadcast on SuperSport.

The next Group C match will be on Friday against The Gambia before facing Tunisia on February 27 in Cairo.

Top two teams will qualify to the quarterfinals while the bigger task will be a semi-final berth that guarantees qualification to the FIFA World Cup in Indonesia.