Chipolopolo keeper Lawrence Mulenga kept a clean sheet in Power Dynamos’ 2-0 victory over Lumwana Radiants on Saturday. His attention will now turn to Chipolopolo, who plays Ivory Coast next week.

Zambia faces the defending champions in Ndola in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier on November 15th. A win will ensure Zambia’s qualification if the game between Chad and Sierra Leone fails to produce a result.

Mulenga has revealed that players are determined to secure Zambia’s second consecutive qualification, but the team will need to pick up where they left off in their 1–0 victory over Chad.

Zambia last qualified for six consecutive AFCONs between 2006 and 2015, winning one of them.

The team dropped the ball after 2015, missing out on the 2017, 2019, and 2019 editions. They returned to the tournament in 2023 to compete in the 2024 edition in Ivory Coast.

“It will be a pleasure to take mother Zambia back to the Africa Cup of Nations again,” Mulenga is quoted by SportsBoom. “The goal this time around would be to go further in the tournament.”

Maximum points against Ivory Coast a must- Mulenga

He said the two games against Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone are crucial.

“We just have to pick it up from where we left off and collect more than three points from the two games and then we can say we will see each other in Morocco,” Mulenga said.

Morocco will host next year’s tournament.

Meanwhile, Mulenga was handed a start in the league match against Lumwana, making his first start in three games. This came after his coach, Oswald Mutapa, said he needed to earn his starting spot after recovering from a facial injury.

“I have started training; it all depends on my progress on the training ground,” he said when asked about his chances of returning to the national team after missing the last match against Chad.