While the feel good factor swirls around Zambia’s 2012 Africa Cup qualifying race, the state of our international football is in a deafening state of denial following events on the pitch over the last 60 days.
Arab opposition not once but three times have over the last two months ejected Zambian opponents in action for both for club and country.
Zesco United alone suffered not once but twice the humiliation of ejection in Caf club competition in winnable games against sides that showed modest form.
In the Champions League, they suffered at the hands of Al Ahly of Egypt who capped it with a senseless pyrotechnic display for measure in Cairo while there was no consolation in the Confederation Cup where MAS of Morocco kicked them out.
Over the weekend, Lucky Msiska’s Under-23 team stuttered to a 2-0 win but weren’t turbocharged enough for the job and the engine blew on the motorway to the London 2012 Olympics.
Meanwhile, Dario Bonetti’s Zambia good run has also benefited from a little help from the people of Benghazi.
It is worth remembering that Libya beat Zambia 1-0 in the two team’s second Group B match last October in Tripoli.
The scenario would have been totally different had Libya not been in turmoil.
Zambia would have still been second best until the two sides last Group C clash at home on October 8.
The results have again exposed chronic psychological and tactical frailties Zambia teams have against North African opponents.
19/06/2011
Johannesburg
South Africa 5 (Phumelele Bhengu 16″, Thamsanoa Sangweni 25″, Mandla Masango
38″, Bongani Ndulula 42″ 87″)* -Benin 1 (Fadel Suanon 79″)
*South Africa win 6-4 on aggregate
Benin City
Nigeria 3 (Ekigho Ehiosun 3″, Gani Oseni 56″, Ahmed Musa 90″)*-Tanzania 0
*Nigeria win 3-1
18/06/2011
Chingola
Zambia 2 (Venacios Mapande 8, Alex Ngonga 84)-Algeria 0*
*Algeria win 3-2
Kinshasa
DR Congo 1 (Deo Kanda 57″)-Morocco 1 (Abderrazak
Hamdallah 87″)*
*Morocco win 3-2
Abidjan
Ivory Coast 1 (Jean-Jacques Gougouhi 10″)*- Congo 0
*Ivory Coast win 3-1
Alexandria
Egypt 2 (Ahmed Sherweda 58″, Shehab Ahmed 68″)*-Sudan 0
*Egypt win 2-0
Dakar
Senegal 1 (Abdoulaye Sane 50″)*- Tunisia 0
*Senegal win 1-0
Playing later
At Bamako
Mali 0-1 Gabon (first leg: 0-0)
