Zambia’s first attempt at World Cup qualification came in 1968 for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, which was staged in Mexico. That year, KK 11, as the team was known, was eliminated in the first round after a 6-all aggregate score against Sudan.
Since then, the country has gone on to make 13 attempts with no success.
The closest the country came to qualifying for the global event was finishing second in Group B of the USA 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with five points, one behind group winners Morocco.
Today, they begin their 15th attempt in history with a home match against Congo Brazzaville at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in the welcoming city of Ndola.
Zambia are in Group E of the qualifiers, where they will face strong opponents such as clear favourites Morocco. Others are potential banana skins Tanzania and Niger, and this evening’s adversary, Congo.
Eritrea were part of the group but pulled out of the race
The rules are simple: top the group and book a ticket to the 2026 World Cup slated for the US, Mexico, and Canada failure to which you live to fight for the next tournament in 2030.
Oh wait! There is a backdoor option, where the four best group runners-up will be drawn into play-offs to determine an African representative at the inter-confederation play-offs. Nobody wants to go down that path.
Going into today’s game, enthusiasm and anticipation among soccer fans are at an all-time high as the players face the pressure of performing for 19 million Zambians.
Coach Avram Grant is under no illusion that it will be an easy road.
“I know Zambia has never been to the World Cup, it is a big challenge… Football has a lot of challenges, and one of the challenges is making it to the World Cup.
“It is a very tough group. Especially this system that only one [team per group] is qualifying… But we will do our best,” Grant said at a pre-match press briefing yesterday.
Zambia will, indeed, need to be at its best. There is some solace in the fact that the team has shown flashes of brilliance since Grant took over from Aljosa Asanovic.
The Israeli has instilled a new sense of belief and determination in the Zambian team. Chipolopolo remains unbeaten in competitive matches under Grant.
He started his reign with back-to-back wins over Lesotho before seeing off Ivory Coast 3-0 at home in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. Comoros held their own in a one-all draw.
This run handed Zambia the first Africa Cup of Nations qualification since 2015.
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They will be looking to carry that momentum into the game against Congo. Every player that Grant lines up today will need to give it their best.
Key players such as Patson Daka, Emmanuel Banda, and Fashion Sakala will be crucial to Zambia’s hopes of success.
Congo Brazzaville, on the other hand, will not be pushovers. They are a physical and experienced team that is capable of causing an upset. Needless to say, a win in the opening game would set the tone for Zambia’s qualifying campaign.
