It is a fair result – Grant
It is a fair result, says Chipolopolo coach Avram Grant.
And Congo coach Sebastian Desabre says his squad prepared well to quell the Zambian threat from quick attackers.
Speaking during a post-match press conference Grant said Congo had quality players playing in top leagues and made Zambia struggle against them.
Zambia and Congo drew 1-1 in their opening Group F tussle at the Laurent Pokou Stadium.
“We know that Congo has quality players who play in some of the best leagues in the world and in Europe. I think wee did a good job, but we couldn’t pass the ball so well because they marked us so well, we scored, and they scored from a big mistake from us, but you can say it was a fair result,” he said.
Grant said that Congo posed a bigger threat to Zambia but were not sharp in front of goal.
“I think the draw is a fair result because even Congo who were sharper than us wasted their chances. Congo have a very good team, very balanced team good midfield players, defenders fantastic but still a very good result for us but even when you are winning you are always disappointed,” he said.
“I think we didn’t pass the ball as we wanted but Congo defended very well, they marked very well. It was very difficult to score chances against them we need to prepare more.”
He added: “You also need to remember that we had a lot of best 11 players that do not play regularly with their clubs, so they are not 100 percent fit. They have just played three or four games over the last months that’s why I am happy because they were fighting throughout the game.”
And Desabre said not many people were aware of the quality of his players.
“I think we had a plan because Zambia is very strong with these players but today (Wednesday) I think the difference with my team is we played a very good game. A lot of people don’t know the speed and the quality of this team, but they are very strong players, but my team played good football and were fantastic,” he said.
Zambia’s next game is on Sunday against Tanzania at the Laurent Pokou Stadium.
Credit: FAZ