Zambians say ‘Pressure is on Nigeria’
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Zambia coach Herve Renard says the pressure is on Nigeria to win Monday’s quarterfinal match, but is confident his team can beat the Super Eagles to qualify for their first Nations Cup semifinal in 16 years.
Zambia were bottom of the Group D standings at the start of play on Thursday. But their 2-1 victory over Gabon lifted them on to four points with Cameroon and the Azingo but they finished top of the group in a convoluted procedure.
“Against Nigeria, our target is to reach the semifinal,” said Renard. “We played against them in Durban in a friendly, two weeks ago, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. They are a strong team with several famous players, but we have a good chance against them.
“For one thing, the pressure is on them, not on us. We have nothing to lose. Our target at this competition was to reach at least the quarterfinals and we have done so now, and from this stage on, it is a bonus for us.”
“Zambia have always been a very skilful team, they know how to play football, but the discipline and the concentration on the pitch has not always been very good,” he continued.
Zambia lost 1-2 to Nigeria in the final of the 1994 Nations Cup, and their last meeting was in 2001, when the Super Eagles beat them 1-0 in Lagos and drew 1-1 at Chipango.
Football Association of Zambia President Kalusha Bwalya was captain of that 1994 team and featured in the Final at the El Menzah Stadium in Tunis.
“This has been a long time coming for Zambia,” said a delighted Bwalya. “Our qualification is the reward for all the hard work we have done in the last few years. We can only get better after this.
“We will take a little time to celebrate this before we get back to work ahead of our match against Nigeria.
“We are all happy, the whole team, the whole country. We showed that there are no underdogs in football.
“We played well against Cameroon and Tunisia before we finished the job against Gabon.”
Skipper Chris Katongo, along with younger brother Felix and strikers Jacob Mulenga and China-based James Chamanga tormented Gabon’s defence to achieve a milestone that many said was beyond this team.
“I believe we have answered some of our critics, who said that we were not scoring goals, but the most important thing is that we qualified for the next round,” said Chris Katongo, who led the Copper Bullets to fire five goals ahead of the four netted by closest rivals Cameroon.
Zambians say ‘Pressure is on Nigeria’
Category: Sports Hits: 752
Zambia coach Herve Renard says the pressure is on Nigeria to win Monday’s quarterfinal match, but is confident his team can beat the Super Eagles to qualify for their first Nations Cup semifinal in 16 years.
Zambia were bottom of the Group D standings at the start of play on Thursday. But their 2-1 victory over Gabon lifted them on to four points with Cameroon and the Azingo but they finished top of the group in a convoluted procedure.
“Against Nigeria, our target is to reach the semifinal,” said Renard. “We played against them in Durban in a friendly, two weeks ago, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. They are a strong team with several famous players, but we have a good chance against them.
“For one thing, the pressure is on them, not on us. We have nothing to lose. Our target at this competition was to reach at least the quarterfinals and we have done so now, and from this stage on, it is a bonus for us.”
“Zambia have always been a very skilful team, they know how to play football, but the discipline and the concentration on the pitch has not always been very good,” he continued.
Zambia lost 1-2 to Nigeria in the final of the 1994 Nations Cup, and their last meeting was in 2001, when the Super Eagles beat them 1-0 in Lagos and drew 1-1 at Chipango.
Football Association of Zambia President Kalusha Bwalya was captain of that 1994 team and featured in the Final at the El Menzah Stadium in Tunis.
“This has been a long time coming for Zambia,” said a delighted Bwalya. “Our qualification is the reward for all the hard work we have done in the last few years. We can only get better after this.
“We will take a little time to celebrate this before we get back to work ahead of our match against Nigeria.
“We are all happy, the whole team, the whole country. We showed that there are no underdogs in football.
“We played well against Cameroon and Tunisia before we finished the job against Gabon.”
Skipper Chris Katongo, along with younger brother Felix and strikers Jacob Mulenga and China-based James Chamanga tormented Gabon’s defence to achieve a milestone that many said was beyond this team.
“I believe we have answered some of our critics, who said that we were not scoring goals, but the most important thing is that we qualified for the next round,” said Chris Katongo, who led the Copper Bullets to fire five goals ahead of the four netted by closest rivals Cameroon.