Congo Brazzaville arrived in Zambia for their Group E World Cup qualifier 14 hours before kick-off in the city of Ndola.
They arrived on the same day as kick-off and were thrashed 4-2 by the Chipolopolo Boys, who ran riot at the Levy Mwanawansa stadium after rallying from a 2-1 deficit.
The Congolese scored through Silvere Ganvoula and Mons Bassoumina in the first half.
But Leicester City striker Patson Daka pulled one back before Lameck Banda leveled the score.
Al Fayha striker Fashion Sakala made it three and later in injury time, Daka completed his brace to become his country’s tenth all-time scorer.
However, after the game, Congo’s coach, Isaac Ngata, stated that fatigue was one of the reasons his team did not perform well.
“We arrived very late in Zambia at 5 a.m.,” said Ngata. “And it was difficult for the players to adapt to this situation. We are going to make sure we have a good organization for the next game,”
He further explained by saying, “Because of the fatigue, it affected the players. They slept around 06 am and had to eat around 11 a.m. They couldn’t play without eating. so it was one of the things that affected our performance.”
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Congo’s next game will be next year in June against Niger.
On the other hand, Zambia will face Niger next week on Tuesday in their second group match to be played in Morocco.
