. Nyirenda

By SANDRA MWILA –
CHIPOLOPOLO coach Wedson Nyirenda said his current squad has the ability to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
And midfielder Enock Mwepu said he was extremely disappointed but urged his team-mates to use the loss as a stepping stone to build an even better squad which should be ready to rise to the challenge of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
Nyirenda said the current team was the best team Zambia has ever had and would have to work on a few areas.
“We have the right team that will take us to the 2022 World Cup, we just have to patch up a few areas. This is the best team Zambia has ever had,” Nyirenda said.
He said there was a lot of positive energy in the team and urged the team not to lose their zeal.
“They (players) just shouldn’t lose the positive energy; we have no negativity and individuality in the team. The team has what they are calling ‘brotherhood’ which was eluded on the past, players were thinking of ‘I,” instead of we,” Nyirenda said.
He said that the team might look small in the eyes of people but was positive will do wonders for the nation.
Nyirenda said the team lost out on a place at the World Cup because of losing their first game against Nigeria at home.
And in a Facebook posting, Mwepu apologised to the Zambians for failing to qualify for the World Cup.
“I would like to say sorry to everybody that has been supporting us as we looked to make history. We need your encouragement now more than ever. Losing is part of the game. If you never lose, you are never truly tested, and never forced to grow,” he said.
Mwepu, who earned a senior team call up after impressing at Under-20 level, said work to qualify for the next edition should start immediately.
“The trouble with being a good sport is that you have to lose to prove it. Also I would like to say to everyone that if you can’t accept losing you’ll never be able to win. As a good sportsman, I would like to say congratulations to Nigeria on their qualification for the Russia 2018 World Cup. Go and make Africa proud,” he said.
Meanwhile, Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Andrew Kamanga gave the team a target of qualifying and reaching the semi-finals of the Cameroon 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Kamanga congratulated the team for a good race in the World Cup qualifiers despite being booted of the competition.
“We have put up a road map on how we should go from here. With the coach we have set a target of semi-finals for the 2019 AFCON. In the 2021 AFCON we want to see ourselves in the finals. We have also given ourselves an ambitious target of qualifying to the 2022 World Cup,” Kamanga said.
The FAZ boss said he would also want to see the Under 23 qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.