Former Zambia midfielder Clifford Mulenga says the Chipolopolo are in a state of confusion ahead of their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
Zambia will open their Group I campaign away to Algeria on September 25 before hosting Togo in Ndola on September 29.
Speaking in an interview with BolaNews, Mulenga attributed the uncertainty surrounding the national team partly to instability in the coaching department.
He said having a caretaker coach [George Lwandamina] assisted by the country’s best coach [Oswald Mutapa] creates confusion and is not a structure associated with top-performing football nations.
“We currently have a caretaker coach who is assisted by the current best coach in the country, so for me, all that is just confusion, and you will never find that in top-performing football countries.”
Mulenga also said expectations surrounding the men’s national team have been low in recent years, arguing that the players should not shoulder all the blame for the team’s struggles.
“Unfortunately expectations have been low when it comes to our men’s national team in recent times which I won’t entirely blame on the players,” Mulenga said.
“When you also look at the current crop of players, we only have a handful of players we can count on, and results have been showing over a number of years now which is sad to see.”
Mulenga expects Zambia to qualify
Despite his concerns, Mulenga believes Zambia should qualify for the 2027 AFCON as the team continues rebuilding and integrating younger players.
“My honest expectation is that the team should at least qualify for AFCON 2027 as the rebuilding and integration of new younger players continues,” he said.
Mulenga further urged players selected for national duty to treat the opportunity with pride, commitment and respect.
He said every player must be prepared to give their all for the national team and put the interests of their teammates and country first.
With Zambia under pressure to deliver results, Mulenga believes the upcoming qualifiers provide the players with an opportunity to silence their critics.
“Right now there is huge pressure on the men’s national team to perform wonders. If there is a better time to prove yourself, it’s when the noise is loud, and right now, the noise is very loud,” he said.
