Zambian envoys in the 2023 CAF Confederations Cup, FC MUZA, were handed a 1-2 home defeat on Sunday afternoon by Congo Brazzaville side, Diables Noirs, at Lusaka’s Heroes National Stadium.

Albert Fataki and Alves Oko scored for Diables in the 14th and 78th minutes, respectively, before Andrew Phiri scored for Muza from the penalty spot in the 88th minute.

After the game, Diables head coach Noël Tosi stated that his team had been well prepared for MUZA and that they knew their opponents better than the Zambians did.

“We had planned for this game. We saw MUZA play against the Guinean [Cano Sport] players twice, and it was very easy to put the tactics together when you know your opponents. I am not sure how much they knew about us, and maybe now that we’ve played them, they’ll know better next time,” he said.

Meanwhile, in response to his counterpart, MUZA coach Mathews Ndhlovuquashed the suggestion that he knew little about his opponent, claiming that was his opinion and not the truth.

“I think if that’s his philosophy of knowing me and my team better than I did, good for him, but I have also known something about how we should approach the game, especially as we face them again,” Ndhlovu said.

Ndhlovu confident Muza can also win in Congo

The Muza coach added that he knew his opponents and declared that “they can’t beat us twice” and that they are not giving up.

“The chances are still 50-50, because it’s not over until it’s over. This time around, since that game will be coming sometime later, we need to focus now on what is next, which is the Wednesday game against Nkana, but we still have to go back to the drawing board to prepare for the return leg [in Congo Brazzaville]. The chances are there for us to go and win that side.”

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FC MUZA, who are making their CAF Confederations Cup debut, will look to reverse the 2-1 aggregate scoreline away from home on October 1, 2023.