Zambia's Last Obstacle in Group C

As the last games of C group loom, the defending champion’s chances of retaining the trophy are looking shaky.

Two draws against Ethiopia and Nigeria has left the Copper Bullets on slippery ground when they meet Burkina Faso in a few days time. Zambia will meet a very confident Burkinabe side who gave Ethiopia a walloping despite going down to ten men after their keeper Soulama got sent off for handling the ball outside the box denying the Ethiopians a goal scoring opportunity.

What does Zambia know about their last obstacle? These guys are big and they can play. They are tenacious and they also rallied to beat Ethiopia with a man down. Kone, one of the goal scorers of the 4-0 trouncing of Ethiopia has said they just need to focus. This could mean anything but more often than not, they will be looking to stop Zambia from playing.

 So it’s up to the Copper Bullets to bring their A-Game. Their biggest threat really comes from Nigeria. If Nigeria, whom also have two points like Zambia win, then Zambia need to win to also go to 5 points. All the teams in this group can still go through but Ethiopia might be considered the weaker side as one cannot imagine both Zambia and Nigeria not taking three points.
 Burkina Faso has 4 points, Nigeria and Zambia both have 2 and Ethiopia is trailing with 1 point so far.
The fact of the matter here is that Zambia has had a torrid time in the last few games. They never looked in control of either ties and their fans are restless. The pitch they have had to play on in the last few games is disgusting and has no business gracing a Sunday league tournament let alone a Nations Cup. They may have a grievance because they are best when they are passing the ball around and this has been a tough test.

We will see what they are made off on Wednesday and their star player Kennedy Mweene has to be at his best to keep the rampant Burkinabe in check. Mweene has saved a few penalties already in this tournament and he scored a fabulous penalty to bring the Zambians level against Nigeria in the last game so he is the man the nation will be looking to keep the pack on course to the next round.