Mozambican giants Costa do Sol midfielder Obino Chisala stole the show on Tuesday during Zambia’s 2-1 victory over Malawi in the third and fourth-place playoffs of the four-nation friendly tournament in Lilongwe.
The 22-year-old, who partnered with wonder boy Miguel Chaiwa, was solid for Zambia, completing the majority of his passes and rarely losing the ball while dropping to defend.
The win over Malawi meant Zambia finished third in the tournament, having lost their first match 6-5 on penalties after a 2-2 draw with Zimbabwe, who lost the final 3-1 to Kenya yesterday.
After only 16 minutes, Clatous Chama scored a beautiful free kick to put Chipolopolo ahead. Less than a minute later, Leicester City striker Patson Daka sailed past the Malawian defence to extend the lead, beating Malawian goalkeeper Innocent Nyasulu to the near post.
Malawi won a free kick in the 22nd minute, which Zambia failed to defend when Lawrence Chaziya’s rebound was misjudged by Toatser Nsabanta and crossed the line before Daka cleared it, allowing Patrick Mabedi’s side to score a consolation goal.
The Flames returned to the game in the second half, looking for an equalizer, but they struggled to break through the midfield partnership of Chaiwa and Chisala, who started ahead of Emmanuel Banda.
‘Its a big achievement for me”- Chisala
Chisala, who joined Costa do Sol in June from Zanaco FC on a 6-month contract with the option to extend, expressed his delight at finally making his Chipolopolo debut.
“It’s a big achievement for me because it’s my first appearance for the senior team. I was a bit nervous but I had to adapt because football is one language,” the former Happy Hearts academy midfielder told FAZ media in an interview in Lilongwe.
The former Zambia U-20 National Team midfielder credited the team’s senior players for assisting him in adapting quickly.
“Most of the senior players have encouraged me to do my level best; being my first time here, they pushed me a lot, in training and even in the game.”
Chipolopolo coach Avram Grant, who had said that he intended to use the tournament to assess new players, expressed satisfaction.
“We played good football in the first half; we tried in the second half but it was a different game. We had some new players to assess and they did well,” he told reporters during a post-match press conference at the Bingu National Stadium.
Zambia’s next game will be an away game against Morocco in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on June 5, 2024, before hosting Tanzania in Ndola on June 8, 2024.
Chisala will hope to cement his place in the team, especially since Grant has yet to settle on a starting lineup, as evidenced by his inconsistent selections in previous games.
