Zambia’s national team dropped points on Friday afternoon after drawing 0-0 with Chad in their third Group G Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier at the Levy Mwanawansa stadium in Ndola.

The Chipolopolo who were without five of their first team players due to injuries struggled to break the Chadian defense as the match ended goalless, much to the disappointment of a nearly packed Levy Mwanwansa stadium.

Team coach, Avram Grant, expressed confidence in his team’s chances of qualifying for the 2025 AFCON despite the result, which leaves the Chipolopolo with work to do in their quest for qualification.

”We have a lot of reasons to be optimistic [about our chances of qualifying for next year’s AFCON],” Grant told a post-match press conference. “I am very optimistic because of what I saw today, what I saw against Ivory Coast and what I saw against Sierra Leone—we have three game remaining and I believe we will be in Africa (AFCON).”

Grant also acknowledged the frustration of not securing all three points at home but emphasized the importance of staying focused on the bigger picture.

“We dominated the game completely but the result is very disappointing but according to our preparations and with all the injuries including Miguel [Chaiwa] , I think we did very well and continued to play as a team,” the Israeli said. “We have finished three games and we have four points— Our target has not changed , it’s to be in Africa [at AFCON]— our head is now in the next game.”

Zambia’s qualification path is far from over, with three more matches remaining, against Chad on next Tuesday, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast.

The sit second in Group G with four points, behind Ivory Coast who have six points in two matches.

Chad and Sierra Leone have two and one point, respectively.