Former Chipolopolo coach Beston Chambeshi has hailed Zambia for a decent start to the Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) following a 1–1 draw with Mali in a Group A match at the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca.

The 2012 AfCON winners, came from behind to draw 1–1 against the Eagles, thanks to a Patson Daka header in added time to ensure that the team does not start the campaign on a loss.

Chambeshi, who led Zambia to AfCON glory at the under-20 level, said in an interview that the team will have to build momentum from that game against Mali.

“In tournament football, the important thing is not to start with a loss,” Chambeshi said. “I am happy that we were able to avoid defeat”.

He said it was good to see the team show character despite having gone down.

“At that level, the boys showed it by managing to stay in the game even after we had gone down and eventually got an equalizer,” he said.

Zambia will now shift focus to their next game against Comoros, where they could get one leg into the round of 16 should they beat the bottom-placed side.

“Comoros will bring a different test; they are not a bad side, so the team has to go into that game with a mentality of winning the match,” Chambeshi said.

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