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The second round of matches in Group F at the Africa Cup of Nations will see Zambia taking on Tanzania at Stade de San Pedro on Sunday afternoon.
Tournament favourites Morocco have shot off to lead the group after the first round of matches and they will take on second-placed Congo DR at this venue earlier in the day.
Zambia were making a comeback after missing the last three editions of the AFCON and sought their first win at the tournament since their surprising triumph in 2012 when they took the field against Congo DR on Wednesday.
However, a win proved to be too much to ask as Chipolopolo had major difficulty creating goal-scoring opportunities in their first match of the competition, registering only three shots against Congo DR, but they did manage to secure a valuable point with a 1-1 draw.
Avram Grant’s team went ahead in the first half of that match as Kings Kangwa cleverly scored from 25 yards, taking advantage of Lionel Mpasi being off his line after attempting to tackle Patson Daka.
The draw between the former African champions came after heavily fancied Group F rivals Morocco started their campaign with a convincing 3-0 victory over 10-man Tanzania at the same stadium.
While their opening fixture may not have ended in victory, Chipolopolo will know that this is their opportunity to take all three points against an opponent that they have not lost to in their last four meetings, winning on two occasions and drawing the other two.
Few had given Tanzania much of a chance in their tournament opener against Morocco, but what was most concerning was just how toothless they were in attack across the entire 90 minutes.
The Taifa Stars managed only two touches in Morocco’s box on the day, marking their lowest tally in an Africa Cup of Nations match, and it was also the lowest among all teams in the first round of matches.
After slumping to defeat, Tanzania are still in search of their first-ever win in AFCON history, having lost six and drawn one of the seven games they have played in the competition.
Adding to the woes for Tanzania, Adel Amrouche has now been suspended by the Tanzania Football Federation for eight matches after a complaint was submitted by Morocco claiming that the Taifa Stars boss had made insulting remarks about the Atlas Lions.
As a consequence of Amrouche’s suspension, Hemed Morocco has been appointed as Tanzania’s acting coach for the remainder of the tournament, and he will be assisted by Juma Mgunda.
Zambia Africa Cup of Nations form:
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Zambia form (all competitions):
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Tanzania Africa Cup of Nations form:
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Tanzania form (all competitions):
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