Zambia on Saturday lost 3-2 on post-match penalties away to Botswana in an international friendly played at Opara.
The game ended 0-0 before the outcome of the friendly match was decided on post-match penalties as requested by the hosts.
“I will dwell much on losing 3-2 penalties but the 0-0 draw which I think was a good result because we took a weakened side to face a very strong Botswana team who are preparing for the participation in the Cosafa Castle Cup next month,” Coach Patrick Phiri said after arriving this morning from Botswana at Lusaka International Airport.
Phiri added that the fact that team didn’t train together prior to facing Botswana and had one workout on Friday in Orapa before their match on Saturday proved it had potential depth.
Phiri said the 0-0 result despite penalty shootout with a team assembly at such short notice was satisfactory.
He went on to say that the whole purpose of Saturday’s game was purely for player identification and that the August 22 game against Rwanda would be approached differently.
“We plan to have all our foreign based players for the game against Rwanda because that match will be played on a Fifa calendar date for international friendly matches and it will very near our match against South Africa and so I will need to fine tune the team,” Phiri said.
Zambia face South Africa away in the two sides final Africa Cup Group B qualifier in Cape Town on September 8.
I don’t think so! Not to Botswana, coach! 0-0 was not a good result for Zambia nor was the 3-2 loss on penalties. Gone are the days such “small teams” like Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Malawi etc counted less. We must do something about this! We are now giving them enough confidence to whip us with in future crucial and competitive games. We must be serious even in friendly matches or else our name will be at stake!
After visiting Linda Compound, then the team saw the Tswana women from kweneni village in Gaborone. What can you expect. I think we would not like to see another coach victim like Bob Woolmer.
This game was sold off and we know how the team was bribed by showing them Tswana women and promising them Gold. This is daylight robbery. We demand a Replay.
When do the excuses end, and real introspection begin!
Mbesuma fails to make a mark against Botswana! Does he need a rocket scientist to awaken him to the fact that he is on the wane; star players make star performances often enough to justify their status.It is such a sorry situation for Mbesuma and Phiri. These two need rest!
Why penalties in a friendly match. Zambian soccer should be serious. Why waste taxpayers money if such games are not taken serious I am afriad we are going no where other than tief
I watched the game. It was a boring affair. Botswana showed even more purpose and commitment. We should take every game seriously because if we don’t, we will not be respected as great footballing nation in the subregion. Soon, we will not be invited for friendlies because our team will be deemed a weak team.
U-23 lost 1:0 to tunsia, Please tell Mulonga to perform rituals at Nkonkola stadium it seems to be a bad omen because of the dead we didnt not respect. We are Africans we cant ignore the beliefs and traditions. Just observe this it will follow us to be unlucky in life it doesnt just come like that.
This second best issue should seriously be adressed.
There is no way all Soccer age groups are being piped
at crucial stages.Can you rearrange your house FAZ!
The under23 were not prepared, the Senior Team goes to Botswana to play a useless friendly game. Save for 2 players the rest of the players that played in this friendly game will not be in the team that will play SA, so what was the point? Anyway maybe it is cause it was a free trip. Waste of time. No further comments
Mukandwa you can not climb a tree from the leaves. You can not just jump to being best without going thru a process. With proper planning we can reach the top at one time, but only if we learn to PLAN ON LONG TREM BASIS. As for Zed soccer we will never achive anything until we have Soccer Administrators with the development of Zed football at their HEART. We shall talk from now until Jesus comes without any results to be proud of. Unless we change our way of thinking, I am afraid to say nothing will be achieved at all
TERM
This indeed has been a sad couple of weeks for Zed football. U-20; U-23; and now this _massive_ loss to Bots (and yeah Patrick, don’t play the “friendly” and “penalties” issue. It is still registered as a loss). I have tried to keep an element of optimism but after today’ s news, I have to agree with the other fans that we need a new long term vision. The one here will not work. If we carry on at this rate, the u-20 will be nothing less than the usual “promise” they show at the u-20 level. Sold to some unknown Danish side playing 3 division football so that their “agent” can get some quick return. Will I be left to feel good about those foreign teams I support with only half a heart? ERB Board was overhauled because of their lack of “proactiveness” and “innovation”. Why can’t the current FAZ go the same way.
It also just shows how unsophisticated Patrick Phiri is! His arguments are basic and many of you have called for his continuity with good motives but clearly he lacks it! This childish excuse just confirms it.
#11 Sport administrators in Zambia are untouchable once they are in office. Just look at the results at all Africa Games its a total disgrace specially by those who get most support from the govt and private sector. You cant not run sport as its your own bedroom. Genuine Administrators in other countries who immediately resign give way for others who might have good ideas. In Zambia a when team loses the administrators they become kings and queens. Untouchables. I mean Phiri has tried his best but I see him get towards PHD syndrome. Unless he will be incharge of the game will not see success on the pitch.
The game against bafana is less than 2 months away.Why didn’t Phiri assemble the strongest team possible and use the game as preparatory one. Most of the guys who featured in the Botswana friendly won’t even fly to Cape Town. Surely we need a coach who can plan and has great foresight. Phiri should learn to take all the games seriously,whether a friendly game with City of Lusaka FC. Come 8 Sept, we will support the guys in Cape Town but something serious needs to be done urgently .
Friends are usually played to assess new players, teams co-odination and abilities. The result helps the coaches to replan or make improvements. The bottomline is we need more friendlies so we can access ourselves. Lets try stronger friendlies with countries like Cameroon, Mexico, Hungary etc. The more exposed we are, the more we shall be pressed for improvement. Who says Zambia is best in the region? Lets take one step at a time. We are learning to walk. If we have to blame anybody it must be FAZ not coaches. Coaches are only employees and FAZ has failed to employ a coach suitable.
I will try to be optimistic with this current arrangement. I will suppose Phiri has a plan, perhaps something similar to what we used at the CECAFA games. Honestly, I like the team he assembled. A brief scan of our football administration reveals that;
1. We never prepare in terms of friendlies when we have a local coach; call it lack of persuacive skills on the local coach’s side combined with superiority ‘simplex’ syndrome on FAZ’s side.
2. We only go far when the local players are as good as the few quality professionals.
3. We lack consistency, both in player selection and selection criteria. For example, why pick strikers from a team like ZANACO; In the local league they struggle to impress with their striking potency. The last time i checked it was a midfielder that was scoring their goals, not to mention that this same player’s retirement from the national team is their record is shameful-they even fail to beat a team from Botswana, a country one eighth our population
Zambian coaches have never done that badly when you think about it. When Fred Mwila was flanked by Poulsen, was that not a credible team? The few times Banmfuchile has been at the helm, has he done that badly as compared to Ziese? And lets also not forget our current Kaumba, Lwandamina and Phiri. I would like to see if anyone has kept a log sheet on these guys on games played, won, tied etc. Just so that our analysis is not skewed by not winning any cup whatsoever. Does FAZ keep these stats?