Zambia’s Group F opponents at the Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Tanzania played winless friendly matches against Angola and Egypt, respectively, at the weekend.
Preparations have intensified ahead of the AfCON, which kicks off on January 13 in Ivory Coast.
The DRC, who have set base in Abu Dhabi, played to a scoreless draw against AfCON-bound Angola on Saturday, while Tanzania suffered a 2-0 loss to Egypt.
The Taifa stars held the Pharaohs for the first 32 minutes before Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah assisted Trezeguet, who scored and broke the deadlock.
Tanzania’s Aishi Manula scored an own goal shortly after Salah missed a penalty in the 73rd minute.
Meanwhile, Group F favorites Morocco were the early birds on the Ivory Coast. They were the first team in the group to arrive in San Pedro ahead of the tournament.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists share the group with Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the Taifa Stars of Tanzania.
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After a week-long camp in Rabat, Morocco, the Atlas Lions arrived on Sunday afternoon.
They were set to take on Gambia before arriving in San Pedro but the match was cancelled. They are set to take on Sierra Leone on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Zambia will face Cameroon tomorrow in Saudi Arabia before moving to San Pedro.