Zambia national team coach, Avram Grant, expressed his disappointment following his team’s 2-0 defeat to Ivory Coast in their opening match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
Despite the loss, Grant felt his team put up a commendable fight against the star-studded Ivorian side.
“Very disappointed because we gave a good fight,” Grant remarked after the match.
The Chipolopolo, who defeated Ivory Coast 3-0 last year in June during the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, found themselves on the back foot on Friday after keeping a cleansheet in the first half and conceding twice in the second stanza with Jean-Phillipe Krasso netting a brace.
Grant acknowledged that the Ivorian team had the upper hand, owing to the presence of several top players with experience in major leagues.
“To play against Ivory Coast with this team of us and this place its not so easy with lot of good players some came off the bench playing in top leagues which we don’t have this privilege I think we did well,” Grant added.
Zambia faced the challenge without key players, including injured forward Patson Daka, defender Frankie Musonda, and Fashion Sakala, who was absent following a fallout with the head coach. Despite these setbacks, Grant was proud of his team’s effort.
“Players gave everything am very proud of the player’s with injuries that we have even during the game we saw a team that gave everything“ he said.
Zambia remains winless in 2024
Zambia’s struggles under Grant continued, as they have yet to win a match in 2024. The team has drawn twice and lost five times in seven outings this year, including four consecutive losses.
As they prepare to face Sierra Leone in their second qualifier match on Tuesday, September 10, in Ndola, they will be hoping to turn their fortunes around. Sierra Leone managed a goalless draw against Chad in their Group G opener.
“I am very disappointed today, but Côte d’Ivoire is a very good team. I think we did well today, and we are looking forward to the next game,” Grant concluded.
Meanwhile, AfCON-winning Ivory Coast coach Emerse Faé said his team deserved to win because they have better players than Zambia.
“𝐓𝐡𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐙𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐙𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐚,” he told journalists after the match.
READ MORE:Zambia’s losing streak continues as Ivory Coast stun Grant’s side in AFCON qualifiers opener
