Sierra Leone head coach Amidu Karim has made it clear that his side will aim to beat Zambia and grab all three points tomorrow when the two clash in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) qualifiers at the Levy Mwanawansa stadium in Ndola.
Karim’s side, who are undefeated in their last three games and kicked off their Group H qualifiers with a 0-0 draw with Chad, will look to beat the Chipolopolo for the first time.
The coach stated, “As long as you are a coach in a team, you have to accept the pressure and our approach to tomorrow’s match, We know we drew our first match 0-0 so our approach is that we have to come here tomorrow to come and win.”
Karim added that he is aware of the quality of the Zambian team but vowed to “pick a fight” against Avram Grant’s side which has lost all four of their last competitive matches.
“We know Chipolopolo and Zambia are a very strong team so we are well prepared to play them. I am very optimistic about every match that I play. No two matches are the same, every match has a different approach. Yes, we know Zambia lost their last match (against Ivory Coast) but we know it’s a very strong team.”
“Me and my boys will be ready to pick up a fight with Zambia. We have quality players; all of my players are very important. The Zambia squad, yes, of course I have been following them. I played against Zambia in the U23s two years ago. I know they are very athletic players,” Karim said.
He continued: “They have a very good squad, even the ones that are playing abroad. Everybody is important in the Zambian team. We have to be very cautious about how we approach them and how we are going to play. Coming to Zambia, I always say it’s a difficult place to play. But this is football. Anything can happen at the end of the day.”
Zambia and Sierra Leone have met two times, with the Chipolopolo claiming one victory in the 1996 Afcon group stage while the other match ended in a 0-0 draw in 1994.
