Following their early elimination from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after 1-1 draws against DR Congo and Tanzania and a 1-0 loss to Morocco, Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Andrew Kamanga has urged the Chipolopolo boys to move on and focus on the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, which will resume in June this year.

The 2012 Champions, who were making their first appearance after missing three editions, only scored two goals through Kings Kangwa and Patson Daka while conceding three, resulting in their early elimination.

With 24 of the 27 players selected by Avram Grant for the tournament making their debuts in the finals, Kamanga believes they lacked experience, as only defenders Stopilla Sunzu, Rodrick Kabwe, and midfielder Lubambo Musonda had played at the Afcon finals before.

“It is very easy to be hard on ourselves and the Chipolopolo following the early exit, but like every sport, we must pick ourselves up and focus on the upcoming tournament,” he wrote in his weekly column shared on the association’s Facebook page.

Kamanaga continued: “We came to this tournament on the back of having missed out on three editions and had to summon everything we had to be on par with the big guns on the continent. Most of our players were making their debut appearance at the Afcon and needed exposure on the big stage going forward,” said Kamanga. 

FAZ planning friendlies for Chipolopolo Boys in March

He has also revealed that FAZ will look to utilize the March international window to prepare the team for the World Cup qualifiers.

“We will keep our focus on the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers that will resume in June with back-to-back fixtures against Morocco and Tanzania in a repeat of Afcon fixtures.

“We will have an opportunity to prepare for the June fixtures during the March FIFA window. As FAZ, we have never relented in ensuring that we line up quality preparations for international matches,” stated Kamanga.

The Chipolopolo boys began their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 4-2 victory over Congo Brazzaville before falling 2-1 to Niger last year.

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They will face Morocco on June 5, 2024, before hosting Tanzania three days later.