Zambia’s head coach Ian Bakala is upbeat about his team’s chances of making it out of the group stage despite their 1-0 loss to Nigeria in their opening game in the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria on Sunday.
One favor In their matchup with the two-time African champions, Bakala’s team was defeated by Daniel’s goal in the 76th minute.
Despite the outcome, Bakala claims he noticed many positives from the game and applauded his players for their valiant efforts.
“It is painful to lose a game like this, but it was a tough game. Credit to Nigeria for the win because they used their chance. When you are coming to the first game of the tournament, anything is possible,” he told CAFOnline.
As he believed was necessary at this point in their football careers, the coach acknowledged that his young players were made to pay for their errors.
“There is a lot to do and we will work on the mistakes in training. We will definitely change our story moving forward,” said the coach.
He continued by saying, “I am happy with how we have played because physically and tactically, we are in a good place. We looked much better in the second half and hopefully, we can carry on that form to our next match.”
Zambia’s next game is against South Africa, which they must win to have a chance of making it to the last eight, while Nigeria plays Morocco, who won their opening match.
Nigeria would only need to win in order to advance to the next round.
