Falling short would be an understatement when describing Zambia’s journey in the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN 2024).

The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations winners endured a hurting campaign, finishing bottom of Group A, losing all four games, in a group labelled by most as the “group of death”

The fairly inexperienced side must have known it would be difficult, having been drawn alongside two-time champions Morocco and DR Congo.

Chipolopolo only managed to score two goals in the tournament, in their 3-1 loss to the Atlas Lions and the 2-1 defeat to Angola, who also exited the tournament early.

The final nail in Zambia’s coffin came on Sunday afternoon, after surprise package and hosts Kenya won 1-0 in a hotly contested tie at the Kasarani Stadium.

Ryan Wesley Rabok Ogam’s strike in the second half extended Harambee Stars’ unbeaten campaign and sealed top spot in the group, condemning Zambia to a pointless exit.

With Tarik Sektioui’s men thrashing the Leopards 3-1 in the parallel fixture at Nyayo Stadium, both Kenya and Morocco progressed to the quarter-finals.

Despite the poor performances from their local-based players, Zambia coach Avraham Grant feels no pressure after his side were knocked out of the tournament (CHAN) last week.

In fact, Avram’s target was never to win the tournament, he says. The Israeli manager has his sights set on the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco, where his team qualified, sometimes without its key players.

“I think we follow the target of CHAN, which is to give African players a chance to play. We came with 25 players, all 25 played, including all three goalkeepers. The target is the first team and we want to improve a lot, to analyse the players who can be good for us in the future,” the former Chelsea boss explained.

Zambia booked their ticket for the 2025 AFCON after a 1-0 win over reigning champions Ivory Coast at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in November 2024.

Grant admitted that even though he doesn’t like to lose football matches, CHAN was a necessary testing ground, looked at as a sacrifice for long-term advantages. His target was to improve the first team in time for the December showpiece in Morocco.

“I don’t like to lose. I can’t remember the last time I lost 4 games in a row, but this was not the target; the target was the first national team,” he said.

Against Kenya, Grant felt his team showed glimpses of improvement and only conceded because of problems in defence. He also acknowledged that his squad was new, and asked for more time, as he feels the team is not yet as strong as the well-known Zambian side.

“It’s a new team, they need a little more time. I think the team improved a lot; it’s a new team completely. In the first games, we had a lot of problems with the defence. I don’t think they created chances; we defended well and had a very good opportunity to score in the first half. In the second half, we conceded in our good moments,” Grant stated.

He plans to sit with his management examine the players, hoping to form a strong side, capable of replicating the 2012 AFCON heroics.

“I will sit with my staff and analyse the players and see who is good for the national team. We have the World Cup qualification and AFCON. The first team is a very good team now, we qualified for AFCON without key players, and now they are coming now we have good competition. I was trying to create more competition,” he revealed.

Good work Kenya

Before leaving the country, the veteran coach commended Kenya’s efforts for hosting a wonderful CHAN tournament.

“I think CHAN is a good tournament. Good work to Kenya, the hospitality was good, pitches were fantastic, and overall the organisation of the tournament was very good,” he concluded.

Zambia’s next fixture will be a World Cup qualifier against Morocco on September 8, 2025. They are currently third in Group E, with six points after five games.

Avram Grant’s achievements as manager

Israel:

• Won Israeli Premier League with Maccabi Tel Aviv – 1992 and 1995
• Won Israeli Premier League with Maccabi Haifa – 2001 and 2002.
• Won Israeli State Cup multiple times.
• Managed Israel national team for four years, 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers unbeaten run.

Europe:

• Managed Chelsea, reaching UEFA Champions League final (2008) and finishing as Premier League runner-up the same year.
• Led Chelsea to League Cup final in 2008 and FA Cup final in 2010
• Managed Portsmouth and West Ham United in the English Premier League.
• Won the Serbian Super Liga title with Partizan Belgrade in 2012

Africa:

• Led Ghana to the 2015 AFCON final.