Chipolopolo Zambia face a tricky job of qualify to the 2023 AFCON after being draw in Group H with tournament hosts Cote d’Ivoire.
The draw maybe laced with an emotional reunion with the team they beat for the 2012 title Cote d’Ivoire but the implications of being drawn with the 2023 AFCON hosts make qualification an even more onerous task.
Comoros and Lesotho are the other Group H teams of the qualifiers that kick off with Match-Day 1 and 2 during the week of May 30-June 14.
Only one team will qualify from Group H in which Cote d’Ivoire are playing classified as friendlies.
And so one must finish above Cote d’Ivoire or runners-up to The Elephants to clinch the lone Group H ticket to Abidjan.
The rest of the other groups will see the top two teams qualify to the AFCON.
Zambia are battling to end three successive AFCON qualification failures.
Tricky? This looks like the easiest group for qualifying
The all qualifications lie in hands of Patson Daka, he has to start scoring tomorrow. If you think it’s impossible, then send Kakubo with pens and calendars to Ivory Coast.
Hand luggage is checked on airlines. They will spot the cement in the briefcase.
Looks possible on paper to qualify from this group. Only hope it won’t be déjà vu again, starting dropping points at home against the likes of the Comoros (1-1) and Lesotho (0-0).
Countries that do well always have that one club that contributes four to five good players to the national team. That scenario is currently not there in Zambia, so brace yourselves for disappointments again
If Ivory Coast are the hosts, they do not have to field strong players and can use unproven players to qualify. So it is an advantage for Zambia to be in this group if IC decide to use such players
Ivory Coast have already qualified. Their games wont count. They will just be practicing for the finals.