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Zambia is out in Cote d’Ivoire to begin negotiations for a place at the Ivory Coast 2023 AFCON and the first assignment is a complicated Elephant Code to crack.
It’s a must-win match for the copper bullets but bringing down the Elephants in their backyard is easier said than done.
Captain Enock Mwepu, debutant Frankie Musonda, Fashion Sakala, Edward Chilufya, and Klings Kangwa have all joined the rest of the team in Ghana and the bullets look fired up.
Ivory Coast has however also named their squad and despite earning automatic qualification by virtue of being hosts, the crack squad they have named is a torpedo of overwhelming force, and to impress the already Afcon-charged home crowd, they will attack relentlessly.
If Zambia cracks the Elephant code, half the work will be done but without a natural and consistent defensive midfielder, Zambia looks limping.
The Elephant hunt and kill must be quick and we’ll coordinate. Zambia should perhaps score first and send some Unbridled panic in their stabilizers then deny them the ball while closing every space with siphoning press.
To maintain shape, the defensive screen protector just in front of Frankie Musonda and Mwape will be key but the team doesn’t seem to have one.
Asanovic’s quick fix to the debacle might be to employ a double pivot but it has just never worked in the past.
Klings Kangwa will need to be given a free role around the team’s vital organs while Mwepu, Fashion, and Daka will all need to do what they have never done before: Press and compress to attack and track for cover in defense.
It will be a long ninety minutes for Zambia but there is no room for dropping any point. Any slip can quickly lead to the end of the road before it begins as first matches are sacred.
A loss will induce Panic in the technical bench and that might be the sinister punch and a shutter blow going forward. There will be an instinctive need to change the team by bringing new players and dropping some and as Fans will begin to fume, the road to the Ivory Coast will be over before it begins.
Zambia Possible 11 Againt the Elephant
Zambia is out to crack the elephant code in search of a place at the 2023 AFCON and these are the possible starting 11.
- Toaster Nsabata
- Prosper Chiluya
- Benedict Chepeshi
- Thandi Mwape
- Frankie Musonda
- Klings Kangwa
- Fashion Sakala
- Enock Mwepu
- Parson Daka
- Edward Chilufya
4-4-2
Ivory Coast Full Squad Against Zambia:
Goalkeepers
Sylvain Gbohouo (Wolkite Ketema) Badra Ali Sangare (JDR Stars) Abdoul Karim Cisse (Asec Mimosas) Ira Eliezer Tape (San Pedro)
Defenders
Serge Aurier (Villarreal) Eric Bailly (Man Utd) Willy Boly (Wolves) Wilfried Kanon (Pyramids) Odilon Kossounou (Bayer Leverkusen) Simon Deli (Adana Demirspor) Ghislain Konan (Reims)
Midfielders
Habib Maiga (Metz) Maxwel Cornet (Burnley) Serey Die (Sion) Ibrahim Sangare (PSV Eindhoven) Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro (Lazio) Franck Kessie (AC Milan) Hamed Traore (Sassuolo) Jeremie Boga (Sassuolo) Max Gradel (Sivasspor) Jean Michael Seri (Fulham)
Forwards
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) Jean Evrard Kouassi (Trabzonspor) Nicolas Pepe (Arsenal) Sebastien Haller (Ajax) Christian Kouame (Anderlecht) Yohan Boli (Al-Rayyan) Karim Konate (Asec Mimosas)
Categories: AFCON, Chipolopolo,
