Zambia squandered a 2-1 lead to collapse 4-3 in a seven goal thriller against World Cup-bound Japan in Florida this morning at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Patrice Beaumelle’s sides were looking comfortable and cruising to a potential 2-1 win until period of madness in the last 16 minutes of the second half in which fans were treated to a four-goal exchange of fire.
Christopher Katongo put Zambia ahead with a powerful header in the 9th minute after turning in a Jimmy Chisenga cross.
TP Mazembe midfielder Nathan Sinkala extended Zambia’s lead in the 29th minute as Beaumelle side stamped their authority on the game.
However, Japan fought back in 40th minute when referee Edwin Jurisevic pointed to the spot for a clear ball to hand off Emmanuel Mbola from a Yoichiro Kakitani shot.
AC Milan midfielder Keisuke Honda stepped up to send goalkeeper Toaster Nsabata the wrong way in what was a poor display all day by the Nchanga Rangers man.
Katongo led Zambia’s early authoritative charge after the break but had two glorious chances wasted heading wide in the 53rd minute and two minutes later sent his shot inches wide of the post.
Then in the 74th minute, Japan ignited to life and levelled scores through Shinji Kagawa with a speculative shot that caught Nsabata unawares.
A minute later an unmarked Honda completed his brace with a close range shot.
But Power Dynamos wonderboy Lubambo Musonda who replaced Chisamba Lungu in the 75th minute equalised with a breathtaking volley in the 88th minute after a dazzling run by the Zambia Under-20 captain on the left flank.
Yoshito Okubo then stunned Zambia with a last minute goal to deny Beaumelle his one hundred per cent start to 2014 after beating Uganda 2-1 on March 5 in Ndola.
The goalkeeper Nsabata was probably too excited.
Man of match maybe was Chris Katongo, he surprised me. But that boy Lusambo Musonda, he is incredible.
Next match play, Kalaba, this new Musonda, Chisamba and injured boy in RSA, from Power.
@Nostradamus
why are you leaving out HH,, he did a good job at the back,,,,
anyway waiting for an ultimatium from Mr kambwili,,,,, before i say anything concret
Ndobo you are the dullest no spark tasteless commentator probably at Lusaka time. Learn about the sanity and etiquette of contributing from Nostradamus. Rubbish after rubbish
By virtue of the powers vested in me, I hereby retire the following players from Chipopolo in NATIONAL INTEREST;
1. Emmanuel Mayuka
2. Musonda(defender,Golden Arrows)
3. Isaac Chansa
I think we should accept its time to move on without these veterans. We can find better players from where we found the young Musonda who scored our third GLORIOUS goal.
Where we’re these youngsters?
1. Kangwa (striker)
2. Mukuka Mulenga
3. Kampamba’Sate Sate’
The pain in most of our losses lies more in fielding the wrong players rather than the result itself…
The Zambian team was hangover and Tampa is hot as hell!
Yes umwaiche Lusambo was good mwe.Ba Nostradamus apo mwalasa bosses.Katongo was also equally good.Our defence needs an overhaul though.
It was clear we missed Kennedy Mweene. Go Zambia Go.
So what happens then if this was a qualifier and he was not available do you ask for FIFA or CAF to postpone the match…move on and start supporting and encouraging upcoming. 2012 Afcon is in past and was mere luck.
Wake up!!
Oh please Jay Jay… shut that beak! I agree with you that we need to move on if players are not available but that goalkeeper had no instincts like our number 1 goalkeeper. He was all over the place and I don’t know why he was complaining to defenders very time he allowed a goal. As for you my friend, Zambia won 2012 Africa Cup whether you agree or not but you will never change that history even if your hopes were shuttered that it was not mere luck but determination.
If you agree with me then why tell me to shut it this selfsame reason why we will never move forward and still tolerate corrupt officals in FAZ.
@Jay Jay but bakutuka boyi, and what had FAZ to do with Kennedy Mudenda on bench, while Felix finished the game or Mayuka played 70 minutes, while Moses Phiri played non?
@Nostradumus. ..when are you going to grow up and submit mature contributions to this forum?
LACK OF EXPOSURE AND TO WITHSTAND COMPETITIVE GAMES
Iwe Nostradamus,are you not the one who days ago was praising Nsabata when it was reported that Mweene was injured?
That excitement you are talking about is part of inexperience that cannot be exhibited by Mweene.Well done HH
Overall the team displayed good football.
You right man, I was for Nsabata, still is, but umwaiche alisamwa, plus first time ku America mudala. But naiwe walishiba ukutamba bola kanshi, yes the game was GREAT!!!! probably best ever, imagine if Kalaba and Mukuka were there too.
And which HH are you referring too? even though I drunk abit, but I didn’t see Hichani Himonde on that pitch.
@Nostradamus
iwe,, not ifya public order act apa,,,,,, we are talking about HH,,,yes Hichani Himonde
gud work guyz’ lake lake
gud work guyz’beaumelle kipit up
thats a poor observsation. we cannot keep on crying for exposure. Zambia is well exposed and the boys know how to handle pressure but sustainability is what lacked. we can cry all we want japan used it as well tool enough to learn and challenge the future.
Poor reporting, who then scored for Japan? Ain ´t they people with names too?
Exactly….they should BBC articles the take time to research about the scorers background, our journalists are too too lazy even to use Google search.
…should read articles on BBC Sport and take time ….
I kept awake the whole night hoping ZNBC would televise the match as promised. Alas there was nothing on ZNBC apart from some lousy documentary. ZNBC: when did you also adopt a “donchi kubeba” slogan. I thought your slogan was “pay and it will show”. I hope you will come right on the world cup.
JUST LAST WEEK, LEONARD CHIBASA WAS TALKING TO ZNBC SPOKESPERSON OR WHATEVER (A MR. M. NDHLOVU) AND A CALLER FROM KASAMA COMPLAINED TO HIM ABOUT THE CAVALIER WAY IN WHICH ZNBC HANDLES TELEVISED GAMES. SPECIFICALLY HE COMPLAINED ON STILL RUNNING ADVERTS WHEN THE GAME HAS ALREADY STARTED AND HE RESPONDED BY SAYING, AT TIMES THEY ARE OVERWHELMED BY SPONSORS WHOSE ADVERTS THEY NEED TO SHOW! COMEON MR. NDHLOVU, HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? DO YOU PLAN? LAST NIGHT WAS TYPICAL OF ZNBC! THEY INDICATED TO THE COUNTRY THAT THEY WOULD TELEVISE THE JAPAN/ZAMBIA MATCH LIVE – WHAT HAPPENED? NOT EVEN AN APOLOGY FROM ZNBC (AT LEAST BEFORE I WENT TO BED) BECAUSE WE DO NOT MATTER! LOOK AT TANZANIA WHICH INTRODUCED THEIR TV JUST A FEW YEARS AGO AND DRC – PERFECT TECHNICIANS! OVERHAULING YOURSELVES NOW WOULD HELP!
chipolopolo played a very good game and im sure even japanese can confess and have learn their weakness which they supose to work on b4 going for the world cup. im sure zambians are now appreciating this old players they critise o the times cos mweene cant allow 4 goals even if he is sick
Remember that Japan were merely warming up they have a lot to lose playing at 100% as has been the case with other teams who have lost key players due to these warm up matches as opponents are taking them very seriously.
Most of our goals were down to shoddy defending which an experienced coach would have taken note of months ago.
When we tell you that you are not going anywhere with this PE assistant you think its a joke.
I was watching that match live here in Tokyo under defence is useless and where in trouble in the goal keeping department one goal was a penalty the other and blunder by the keeper…. The attackers played well we need a new coach who knows how to park the bus we should have won the game
If his boss wasn’t up to the job tactically surely you cannot expect his apprentice who has never worked in any club as manager to know better.
Woh! These japanese names no different from Lunda names.You know names like Kanguya Kawasaki Kanjimana kadochi Kajiya Kaleji .
Znbc and Nsabata are brothers, dont trust them. Jokers and a laughing stoke
Is that your new boy friend in picture from Tampa? Did ZNBC play too? Why ZNBC when there are so many free channels?
@Nostradums:
Because we pay ka 3 pin per month and they SHAMELESSLY” tell us they would do when they know they cannot. In technical fields you do not promote people the way ZNBC has been doing – cameramen and clerks from the Charles Mando MHSRIEP) era are now engineers and technicians – what can you expect in these fast changing technological world? May be it only needed one to touch something and all was going to be fine but since it needed one to make an apology in English (something that was not known) then both the switch and apology were just left like that and given and the reasons- GREAT STUFF AND FORBID FOR WORLD CUP GAMES PLEASE. MR. MASUSYO NDHOLVU, WHAT COULD BE YOUR LAME EXCUSE AGAIN? NOT FIT TO BE THERE, JUST GO BACK TO THE NEWS ROOM AND SAVE US THE EMBARRASSMENT!
So Alibenzelu or Wnzelu, Ndobo or dobo, Engineer(Australia) or bush mechanic or economic refugee, Matipa or mud, Jay Jay or Jay Gay, Ganger farmer or ganger smoker, Dudelove or dudehate will attribute the lose of the Chipolopolo to PF. Lol
And we continue still playing names and ageing players like ba Chris who are 40 years old….instead of using this match to play youngsters for preparation of AFCON or next World Cup. Players like Muyaka should not even be sent a ticket as they are not just good enough stats don’t lie. Zambia needs an experienced manager not these French PE teachers chancing their luck and building their CVs in Zambia.
I just wonder how much we are going to folk out to corrupt empty suits at FAZ in travel expenses because it seems they all had travelled to States.
Wake up!!
Jay Jay has a point. My question is, “Who interviews the coaches? Is it FAZ or is it what people say that send the thief to catch a thief?” If real the revelation about Kalusha are true then the guy is a businessman whose interests are at play even when it comes to pick coaches. If the current coach was in charge of fitness (PE Master) of players and Renard was his boss then FAZ decided to settle for him after Renard departure, then there is a serious problem with FAZ. It signals self demotion when you had a person you called average world class coach. No wonder I said someone is a businessman at FAZ. The boys did the best. Technically the goals are content of quality especially the third goal. and Japan to settle for Zambia is not regretted. It is one of the best games they have had
I can bet you Japanese TV companies paid top dollar for this match a percentage of which will never see the FAZ’s bank account.
Thumbs up guys u played clasical game chi keeper messed us up we would hv won thgat game…..very porous in goal mxmmmmmmmmmm
Typical small mind you would rather we used the ageing players like Mweene than let younger players gain experience.
yes, these younger players maybe good and need to be given a chance but lets accept it, chaps like NSABATA are far from being capable to play in this team and do not deserve another chance, the CHIPOLOPOLO is not an academy, thats why we have under 20 and 23. for lubambo, he deserves anothe chance NOT BO NSABATA
Laughable indeed yet the manager’s position is an academy! !
@BACKBENCHER
do you even remember the last time Zambia employed an experienced coach? Not these chancers you call coaches.
The goal keeper was wasteful.
Chipolopolo have a Great future with this Players. Am proud of the zambian display. Good luck next time. Great Game.
We also need to understand that Japan as a qualified team, they have been together, Zambia was gathered just for pores of training. We missed mweene and Stophila, we should have even beaten them. 3:0. However, lets not kill the young keeper, he has never played at that level, am sure bit by bit the boy will mature.
Very easy to blame the keeper when he is the last man in defence…just looking at those goals, it was more of defence errors who were all over the place….this is what you get when you have an amateur managing a team.
Both teams played exceptionally well. Japan is one of the best coached teams in the world and their coach, one of the most experienced. A number of their player ply their trade at prestigious clubs in Europe. Most impressive indeed was the sharpness of Japan’s frontline. I await to see how far they are going to go at the World Cup Final in Brazil. Otherwise, the Chipolopolo were not a sorry sight to watch either. What a splendid performance of theirs that was! Congrats Chipolopolo.
Correction: “a number of their players..” and not “a number of their player..”
I overhead someone on the zambian bench say “Ah zo-ona bola yalapwa ine noteyako nabena Shinji Kagawa bakamba ?” I laughed.
Another international match added to this Assistant PE teacher’s cv ….Zambians wake up from your docility and passivity!!
Count above, Jay Jay vs Nostradamus (4-3 full time)
Iwe Jay Jay why do hate Patrice? I am sorry man, but I think you are physically attracted to the guy.
Sports masters in primary schools are the PE teachers most of time, and they are good at exciting pupils. Patrice Bamaulle is so likeable by all players. I wish you were here in Tampa to shake the guy’s hand.
ah this JAY JAY guy is a big joke if not a fraud, or maybe he did not just watch the match due to ZNBC’s Donchi kubeba, he keeps on calling for the heads of the experienced old players in the name of giving the youngstars a chance. yet look at what we saw yesterday, only filled in 1 so called youngstar and he messed it up careless, what more if we had filled in 5 ? ngatwali sebana. Chris K, man of the match, Sunzu was execellent, nomba umwaiche na mabilibili yakwe, abafulwisha ba Sunzu.
You are happy to give a foreigner who has NEVER managed a club anywhere a job as National team coach yet you can’t entrust your ownyoungsters…how do they gain experience if you can not give them an opportunity. Will Ba Chris Katongo be there to play the next world cup when he is 44 years old?
Remember this is a friendly/ warm up match, in a group match we would have been beaten tactically. You Zombies never ever learn you are the selfsame people who thought you would beat Ghana in Kumasi with the PE teacher Renard.
Now you tell me who is the fraud here?
The keeper was pathetic, otherwise the boys have got what it takes to grab even the world cup.
What is that may I ask? You think the World Cup is a Continental tournament where a country like Greece can win it….you do not have what it takes, STOP DAY DREAMING unless you remove those corrupt self-serving characters at Football House and RSA you call football administers will you have a chance to qualify.
If you had a tactically astute manager he would have made it impossible for Japan as they would have much to lose if they went all out.
WAKE UP THIS WAS A MERE WARM UP MATCH FOR JAPAN!!
WAKE UP!!
The boys are good. They can score. Thats what Renard failed to make them do. But allowing in so many goals? The Brazillian philosophy has been its okay to let the rival team score as long as you can score more
The coach should be fired. No two ways about it. First his record is appalling. second how do you give away a 2-0 lead at this level? we playing japan not Nigeria or Argentina
Chipolopolo boys played very good Zambian football. I think Zambia can play any team if they qualify to the World cup. I am sure even the Japanese coach was surprised. That’s is why Zambia won the 2012 Africa cup!!!!
either zambia or japan wud ve walloped that amateur team called england. i rily feel pit for the english fans looking at their misplaced belief in a team such as england which last won world cup 1966 nako akakubapela fye. of the teams at the world cup england shud be number 32.
english premier league full of foreigners and no football to show for that. how can a league that claims to best not produce a quality national team. the english commetators are equaly pathetic just like ZNBC, they are full of hollow excuses why england performs badly. we shall same monotonous commentries like “no so and so” how long shall ever listen to such.
Nsabata z a useless goalkeeper nd ws the reason why we lost against Japan.Nchanga rangers have not won any game this season with in goal.A good goal keeper z known through reflex skills .but that poor boy nsabata has none.Any good coach could ve not called that boy 2 national team or could ve substuted him when he conceded the second goal. faz must fire coach with immediate effect or we ll call for resignation of kalusha,what more with š80,000 money.
Why do African Teams always concede after they score,well its obvious we celebrate too much on celebrating and lack concentration.
When you score a goal to don’t over celebrate cos the game is not over.You pick up the ball run with it at the center circle to give a chance for your team mate to regroup.
Look at what happen to us when we scored against sudan we were still celebrating when they started they playing at levy mwanawasa.We conceded with a few minutes after scoring the coach must always discipline he players to concentrate 90 mins.Otherwise we will continue loosing to good opponents if we don’t work on our discipline.
well all being said I still believe our boys did their best, some tried but could`nt…and now we have seen our mistakes and mistakes are good hints to try once more but with experience….The coach / technical support are good, our players are good and disciplined than before and with time, preparation and our usual wonderful support / resources…we will break through even to the world cup….Nsabata could do better but needs improvement from basics…I love my nation Zambia and one day I believe will we be their at the world cup….sometimes you got to loose now to win later.