George Lwandamina confident Zambia can turn AFCON campaign around

Lwandamina’s side were beaten by the Desert Foxes at the Hocine Ait Ahmed Stadium on Friday, with Algeria recovering from Fashion Sakala’s 57th-minute equaliser to claim victory through Ibrahim Maza and Anis Hadj Moussa.

Despite the setback, Lwandamina was encouraged by the character shown by his players in a difficult away fixture and believes the experience will help the young squad grow.

“This is a young team and they are coping very well. We can actually change the tables. The boys are fighting very hard and, with a little bit of experience in the team, I’m sure we’ll be able to bring them together,” Lwandamina said, as quoted by FAZ Media.

The coach admitted that Zambia’s individual errors proved costly, while injuries also forced him to make changes he had not planned for.

“Few mistakes, of course, and we were punished. Injuries also affected us. We had to make changes which we wouldn’t have made, and that cost us the game,” he said.

Lwandamina was nevertheless pleased with the effort from his players, particularly given the hostile atmosphere they faced in Algeria.

“It was a tough match and the boys played well. Away from home, it wasn’t easy for them, but they fought to the bitter end,” he added.

The Chipolopolo now have an opportunity to respond when they host Togo on Tuesday, with Lwandamina stressing the importance of securing maximum points at home.

“Definitely, we need to win our home games if we are to qualify. Togo won’t have it easy,” he warned.

Togo enter the match with three points already secured after beating Burundi 1-0 in their opening qualifier.

Lwandamina also praised Algeria’s depth, pointing to the country’s large population and wide pool of players as a major advantage.

“Algeria has a new team, mind you, Algeria is one of the big countries in the world, so the population is very big and you have more options of players out there. You can even make 10 teams here in Algeria,” he said.