Zambia national team assistant coach Moses Sichone has applauded the Chipolopolo Boys for putting up a spirited fight on Friday night in Bamako against the Eagles of Mali in a match that ended 1-0 in favour of the home side.
Sichone believes his team played well despite recording a lose and he is confident the future for his young team is bright as they showed character and a passion to fight for the national colours.
“I’m not worried about the score line, we did well, we played well,” said Sichone.
“We were a bit reluctant in the midfield where we did not try to close them up but gave them time to make combinations and create chances.”
The former Viktoria Koln under-17 coach who is standing for head coach Aljosa Asanovic who has gone awol, was also quick to acknowledge the quality in the star studded Malian squad and the “fantastic” football they displayed in the friendly match in front of their home fans.
He added that the Malian team was more experienced than his Chipolopolo side that had players making their debuts for the senior team.
“Mali played a fantastic game, they have got great players, there is no question about it but Zambia has also played a great game, these players are young players we can not compare them with the experienced Mali players but as I said, I am not worried about the score line,” he said.
The Chipolopolo Boys who were without skipper Enock Mwepu and Patson Daka who are reportedly ill, suffered their first ever defeat to Mali after an early goal in the 7th minute by El Bilal Toure ensured victory for the home side.
The two will play another friendly match on Monday next week in Bamako as both continue to prepare for the third round of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers that were postponed to March next year due to the FIFA World Cup preparations by the five African countries that will represent the continent inQatar this November.
