Chipolopolo coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic says he expects an action-packed thriller against the Taifa Stars of Tanzania during the Group D African Nations Championship (CHAN) opener.
And Tanzania coach Etienne Ndayiragije says he expects his lads to burn out all their energy when they face Zambia at Limbe Stadium tomorrow.
During a pre-match press conference at Limbe Stadium, Micho said he knew at what level his team was after a litany of friendly matches played as part of the build up to the CHAN.
He said that his team will treat Tanzania with respect as an adversary in tomorrow’s clash.
“Our intention is to pass the group, once you pass the group anything after is possible. Instead of speaking beyond (Tanzania match), we will be disrespectful to the team of Tanzania and disrespectful towards our focus and concentration in tomorrow’s match and speak about the outcome of the tournament,” he said.
Micho said his team will be looking to planting a winning seed in the opening match tomorrow.
“In football, the same like in life, you need to plant the seeds and we are planning to plant the seeds in the field of play tomorrow that will give us the performance and result that could talk after. Let not words but action talk louder,” he said.
And Ndayiragije said Tanzanian football had grown on the continent and will be fairly represented on the pitch tomorrow.
“The main target in this tournament is that we want to play each game like a final. Our focus in tomorrow’s game is we must burn all our energy to reach and to achieve what we know and believe,” he said.
Chipolopolo captain Adrian Chama said his team was ready to showcase its talent before the African tournament.
Chama is no stranger to Limbe having been part of the Chipolopolo that drew 1-all with Cameroon in 2016 ain FIFA World Cup qualifier.
“As Zambia we are here to compete, and this is a good tournament for us the players who play locally. We are here to showcase what Zambia has to offer to the rest of the continent,” he said.
Zambia and Tanzania face off tomorrow at 18h00 Zambian time with the match live on Top Star.
In the other Group D game Guinea will play Namibia in a 21h00 (CAT) kick off.
