Flames to defend in Zambia friendly
Flames assistant coach Lovemore Fazli says they will play a defensive game when they face Zambia’s Chipolopolo this afternoon at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
Both teams will feature local-based players.
The Flames will use the friendly to prepare for the back-to-back 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers against Burkina Faso on March 26 away in Ouagadougou and March 31 at Kamuzu Stadium in the reverse fixture.
Fazili, who is in charge of the team in the absence of head coach Meck Mwase, said they need to defend as they prepare for the away match to Burkina Faso.
“We are going there to play almost 4-3-2-1 system which is going to involve a lot of defending.
“Since we are going to play away against Burkina Faso, we need to observe our defensive approach of the game.
“The real purpose of this game is to see how the players are going to adapt to the system. Though we do not have the foreign-based players, we know they are more advanced than the local players and will adapt very quickly.
No wonder Fazili has travelled with nine defenders Peter Cholopi, Stanley Sanudi, Nickson Nyasulu, Precious Sambani, Hadji Wali and Gomezgani Chirwa.
Goalkeepers that have made the trip are Brighton Munthali, Rabson Chiyenda and William Thole.
The squad has midfielders Chimango Kayira, Chikoti Chirwa, Chimwemwe Idana, Micium Mhone, Peter Banda, Isaac Kaliati, Raffick Namwera and Duncan Nyoni. The strikers are Foster Bitoni, Vincent Nyangulu and Hassan Kajoke.
The friendly, which was shifted from Wednesday to today, will be newly-appointed Zambia coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic’s first match following his appointment tin January.
Micho has named a provisional 2020 Chan squad that has top players from the local league, including the 2019 Cosafa Under-20 Player of the Tournament and Nkana midfielder Patrick Gondwe.
