Croatia-based midfielder Emmanuel Banda, who plays for Rijeka, came under fire after making a costly mistake that cost Zambia a 1-0 loss to Tanzania in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday at the Levy Mwanawansa stadium in Ndola.
Banda misjudged his attacking opponent’s movement when he attempted to turn around with the ball, allowing Muthathir Yahya to cruise into Zambia’s penalty box and pass the ball to an unmarked Waziri Muhudi, who made no mistake in beating Lawrence Mulenga at the near post and putting the visitors ahead four minutes into the game, a goal that was enough to seal the victory for the Taifa Stars.
Although the whole team did not perform to many fans’ expectations, Banda has received the most stick.
However, coach Avram Grant has come to his defence, stating that it is a team sport.
“Look, we are winning as a team and we’re losing as a team,” Grant told journalists at the Levy Mwanawansa stadium after the game. “I can tell you that every player makes mistakes; it happens in the game.”
“The most important thing for me is how we’ll recover from the game,” he added.
When asked why it took until the 67th minute to substitute Banda, even when it became obvious that he was having a bad game, Grant said he made the substitutions when he thought they were needed.
“I think if you saw that until the end of the first half, we dominated the game, and the substitutes, when I think that we need to sub [make substitution] we sub. Of course, when we look back, you can say you can do this or you can do this.”
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