Player Ratings: Zambia 0-2 Algeria
By Whisper,
Who has the calculator?! It’s time for mathematics.
Overall we played well guys, a much improved performance than against Rwanda. I know that the game is all about scoring goals but we did everything apart from that.
Okay here’s how I saw it.
Mweene 7/10
Hard to asses because he didn’t have much to do apart from pick the ball out of the net a couple of times. Perhaps he could have come off his line a bit quicker for the Algerians first goal, but that would be a harsh critisism.
Muzo 7.5/10
Fantastic. I have given the guy a hard time in my assessments, but he proved me wrong today. Solid at the back (although the cross for the second goal came from his side) and a threat going forward. Belhadj the much talked about Portsmouth left back was kept in check and I actually think that Muzo won their battle.
Mbola 7/10
Did well and displayed a never say die attitude. He defended well and ensured that the threat on that side of the pitch never materialised. Got forward well but his delivery wasn’t always the best. The commentator on myafricanfootball was drooling over the boy, especially as he has only just turned 16. Overall not a Rwanda performance, but not far off.
The Machine 6/10
Tough and strong. Even though the Algerian forward looked much bigger than him, Nyambe didn’t give him an inch to manoever. Again I think it is difficult to asses him because the Algerians didn’t really offer anything going forward.
Dennis Banda (Elegant, that’s what I’ll be calling him from now on) 6/10
This dude is simply smooth. A good passer with either foot and with good dribbling skill. Like his centreback partner he didn’t have much to do apart from challenging the long ball from the Algerians. The first goal was down to either him or Nyambe, I’m not sure who. And his pace running back was suspect on the second goal.
Mr Reliable 5/10
Francis was out of sorts for the whole time he was on. He did really well in winning the ball from the Algerians and displayed his ox-like strength in 50/50 situations, but his distribution was awful. He persisted in trying to launch long balls and hardly any found the target. Subbed at halftime.
Feligol 7/10
Despite someone above saying that Kalaba was their Man of the Match, I’m giving it to Felix. He ran the show for Zambia, collected the ball in midfield and carried it forward. He has great ball control, dribbling skills, is two footed and has a good shot (although it was missing today). He also showed a huge amount of commitment today, fighting for every ball. There was a great demonstration of his skill late on when he beat 3 defenders on the left side and they had to foul him. I really think the coach at Chateauroux is blind.
Kaka-balika 8/10
The combination of him and Felix was a major positive to come out of the match. Although not as skillful as his partner in crime he has a fantastic range of passing and vision. He was unlucky not to have scored from a fiercly struck freekick and showed real desire throughout. definately should play in the centre with Feligol.
Staff Sergent 6/10
I love Chris, but something just isn’t right at the moment. He didn’t seem to have a position and was lost throughout the first half. His trademark direct running is gone, his quickfire shots have disappeared. He isn’t the same player. In this game he made no contribution in the first half and although did a little more in the second it still wasn’t enough to save him from being subbed. I can’t help but think that this move to Bielefeld has been really bad for him. It seems like the confidence is gone and he isn’t sure what to do with the ball when he gets it.
Jaco 7/10
Started like he finished against Rwanda. Within the first minute he had harried the Algerians into a corner having beaten two of them with skill, power and pace. You could see that it mattered to him and his expression following a point blank miss in the second half revealed his emotions. He is big and strong, the Algerians had obviously singled him out and they didn’t give him space. Joco kept running and harrying, but he needs to do more than that… he needs to score.
Freedom 5.5/10
Unfortunately the predator failed to take down his prey even when it was handed to him on a plate. Given had 2 outstanding opportunities in the first half and failed to take either. The first was a free header at the far post. If he had made the keeper work then he could be excused, but to miss the target, that’s inexcusable. The second chance was fluffed when he shot straight at the keeper following some amazing work on the right from Muzo who then put through a fabulous ball. Verdict: Given needs to score soon or he might not get too many more chances.
Subs
Fwayo 6.5/10
Came on for Given and added some extra skill and pace to the attack. His first touch was to beat an Algerian with a sublime piece of skill which got the crowd on its feet. I really like Fwayo and think that he has a big part to playin our future, I think HR just needs to bite the bullet and make the tough decision to bench Chris because he’s off form. Fwayo had a guilt edged chance to equalise when he met a deflected Jaco cross and the ball was cleared off the line. The Algerian’s hit us with a deadly counter and scored their second. Overall decent game.
Noah 7/10
Came on for Kasonde at halftime and was the distributor that Francis failed to be. Noah has a sweet left foot and used it to great effect in spreading the play via long diagonal balls. I think Noah is both the luckiest and most unlucky player at the same time. Let me explain. He is lucky because despite not playing at his club he consistently gets called up for Chipolopolo and gets game time. He is unlucky because he is asked to play a huge variety of roles and can’t make any position his own. If he can replicate the second half performance then he might challenge Kasonde, but I would need to see him up against a team that was more intent on attacking so that we can see how he is under pressure.
Bomber 7/10
Came on for his skipper and put himself about (as they say in UK). The boy is still only 18 but his time in Isreal seems to have bulked him up and he has a bit of a physical presence. Worried the Algerians with his strength, running and enthusiaism. Had one shot way of target, but did well in the build up to shield the ball, turn and shoot. Let him continue his development and he will be one to reckon with.
Verdict: We played well and had the Algerians on the ropes for much of the match. Even though they had a star studded team we surprassed them in most areas. At the final whistle the average age of out team was about 21 which is amazing. We have made it difficult to qualify for SA2010, but at least we know that we just have to win all the remaining games, no more factoring in draws it’s win or nothing now
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i just wish we go for victory for next time!!!
Just a quick point of correction, I mistyped and gave Feligol a score of 7 when infact he was a 9 (in my opinion)
Speaking of SA, they have put Spain under pressure
Thought so as well
What I ve noticed about this team is that it seems to be more comfortable when it playing away from home.So I actually dread the home games more than away matches
The Australian commentor keeps talking about the stardard( not very good) of south African playing field,I wonder what he would have said about the Konkola stadium…
0-0 halftime
interesting comment my bro only av 1 question are u saying maybe we should play from a our game from say malawi o any other country?@nsomba
Wat is hapenin Spain South?
Vila scored for spain, He missed a penalt though. Lucky enough His not playing for Zambia so they wont drop him from the team.
1-0 FOR SPAIN
SA just allowed few seconds just after serving a penalty and a rebound. SA is not bad
Realisticaly, the race is now between algeria and egypt. I have a feeling egypt wil bounce back afta confeds cup. Zambia and rwanda wil fight for the afcon and believe me that will be no easy fight.
maybe lol
@Kasama Boy
Lets stop dreaming and face reality-we have no formidable team to take us to Joberg next year.As long as your toothless fox continues playing the likes of Kasonde, Singu. etc then you might as well forget the Africa Cup in Angola. Fox and the entire FAZ should swallow their pride and call on the services of Sinkala, Sichone, Chansa and Mbesuma. And what about the Power Dynamos boy who came out as footballer of the year last year why is he not giving him a chance-why is he so much in love with that Singu boy doing very little on the pitch?. As i stated ealier on when the coach dropped Mbesuma, it was a big mistake as Mbesuma is a very intelligent player in the D zone and some of those chances the likes of Singu. were blowing would have been goals had Mbesuma not been dropped. I also suspect Chansa is well but because of the way he was treated by Fox last time he was with team-being dropped at the eleven hour after travelling all the way from Europe must have annoyed him. And the defence, my God-we have always had good players at the back,whats going on pa Z?
2-0 for spain…..SA must hope Iraq doesn’t win against New zealand. Iraq vs New zealand is 0-0 at the moment. 73 Minutes played soo far
Muzo was excellent today…
I dont see why the coach should be blamed for this loss when our strikers failed to finish clear chances. However I do blame him for dropping Mbesuma. We needed somebody with an eye for the goal. Keep the same team, just find yourself strikers that can score then will win us some matches. Look We had better chances today than we had against rwanda yet we won that match.
what a save by new zealand goalkeeper to give hope to the SA. 1MINUTE BEFORE THE IRAQ GAME
SA GOES THROUGH…THANKS TO NEW ZEALAND HOLDING IRAQ
With Kalu on top Zambia cant achieve anything.The MAN is dull and his days are long gone.
The team should have played Kenya if the Kenyans requested for a friendly instead of playing small boyz .Our under hr has struggled at home.not training in Zambia when we have a game at home leaves much to be desired.I am sorry for the players.Kalu must gooooooooooooooooo
Kalu and his administration organizing friendlies with orlando pirates youth brigade team….a travesty..that seems to to be their modus operandi… south africa, south african training camp…get some friendlies with real teams please…no more training in sa…..organise a friendly with quality arab opposition, israel, or african team…..use fifa calendar..enough of this charade…select players who actually play at clubs…use cifford mulenga, invite zambian footballer of the year, invite zambian top goal scorer….
Singuluma is an amateur. I always favour Chamanga, he provides us better options.
There were better players than cliff today….
KALU is not to blame. If we had won, you would have been the same people praising him. My fellow Zambians, we shpuld accepting the results. When we lose, let’s not start calling names. Imagine we don’t qualify for Afria Cup, what would you call for?
It’s a sombre time brothers, but let me enforce that we should be proud. I’m very proud of the way guys played the entire game. Sorry KK11, happy birthday but i’m afraid not this time.
Let us not forget the progress we have made, Zambia has a very competent side now. Again i’m proud of the guys – they showed great unity and great professionalism. There was allot of expectation on this game, maybe to much and we should be careful we don’t keep to much pressure on ourselves and on the boys, because we all want this bad. It’s another valuable lesson in this game(maybe one we can’t afford), an important lesson though. This defeat has ground us now and it’s not over until it’s over.
Big thanks to the team, all my praise goes out to you guys at this time, i know we will go on in the right way. Let’s keep our heads in the game and our eyes on the ball.
Good article Whisper. I would say though, that i maintain faith in Christopher Katongo and even Given Singuluma. Chris didn’t find himself the space he likes because of the deep defending from Algeria. His offside goal(Rwanda) i thought was a goal. Everyone was great, as i say i’m proud… Noah is a great player and we should give him more credit in our line ups. We need some friendlies sure, Renard needs to find confidence in Njobovu again and others need confidence in themselves. We need to rethink and get creative in the final third and the way we look to score goals. It sucked our confidence and that is a shame because we do everything else well.
@leesok
I also prefer Chamanga up on top, but it seems as if nobody gives him the credit he deserves.
@Pabwato
You are right, the only people to blame are the strikers period. Zambia has only managed to score 2 goals since the qualifications started. None of the goals were scored by a striker.
@Kasama Boy
The probleme is we’re not South Africa…we’ve never lost a game in Tchaker, I don’t think it’ll start with you…
Obviously the result is disappointing and for me HR and the boys surprised us even getting this far. Algeria only have to beat Zambia and Rwanda at home (most likely) and can afford to lose to Egypt-gee i forgot that Egypt could also qualify if they beat Rwanda home and away and Zambia in Chilies with a victory in Cairo over Algeria. As for Zambia i said it before no mathematicsa we are out albeit qualifying would be a bonus(sorry people i trust my instincts and as Ba Spaks can tell you i rarely lose bets!!!!).
Maybe it was too much pressure from the weight of expectations that had an effect on the strikers. I thought beating a weak team 9-0 in a warm up would go some way towards instilling confidence in front of goal, but it wasn’t to be.
I think everyone agrees we need more serious preparations. Otherwise they boys performed admirably. Remember there are not many teams in the world which can create so many chances against a tough defence. Its just a matter of finishing.
At least we now have a good defence, which is something HR has been building on. The pressure is lifted for the remaining matches. Play to win!!
Reminds me of my other beloved team Portugal. They’re able to dominate possession, create numerous chances but lack the finishing. But even they don’t penetrate as well as Zambia in attack.
There is a lot to be proud of, but a lot of work to do before we return to be glory days. Lets not be too quick to assume we’re there, nor hastened to over-criticize the efforts which have brought the team this far.
Let’s face it and stop trying to save face. Zambia has fallen face first. Crappy defence and faulty offence. Forget the World Cup because when the truth is the @#$ has hit the fan and it sure does stink. Get real players back in the game or not, Algeria will not make any moremistakes because this time, their gameis solid and nothing stinks. Playing in Algeria will be fantasy if we think that they will just let us win. Something has to be changed radically. Sit the wacky defence on their asses next time and get real players in their and sit management down for a serious talk. Enough of this it was a fair game and we played ok crap. Ok is when we win and winning is when we score goals more than the other team. EVerybody just shut up and get some sense out of your moths not this crap. We failed!!!!! Period. Doom and gloom was the result. And it will be if nothing radically changes.
I STILL VE HOPE. ZAMBIA performs when you LEAST expect it, TOUGH luck guys, am still chipolopolo, HR find another striker de way u found mbola. Muzo was a marvel to watch, God Bless Zambia
Gents like what GAMETIME has said no Zambian striker has scored a goal from the time we started the 2010 qualifiers in Ghana aganist Togo.Chris only scored a spot kick aganist Swaziland & we have so far only scored 4goals and allowed 4 in the in this campaign.
Ok now lets hear wat th 1 has to say.Il b as objectiv nd specific as i can.Singuluma out,fwayo in,felix out mudenda in, sakuwaha in kasonde out,chintu in nyambe out.And on th bench clifford and andrew.4get mbesuma,chansa.If u do ths u wil surely win.Th role of CDM is overated ,u jus make 433 and evri1 drops simple!
where is Mr Chamz and his partner:they say a bad things about Arabic football teams,i think the first a pattern is when Egypt beat Italy and a second one is our victory yesterday,and when you will to comme in Algeria you will see another one because on september all Arabic and musulman comunauty will in ramadan.
i accept your point th 1 ,but not to remove felix awe.clifford should alway be part of the team.let renard hear from other people there is no experimenting anymore.what he should know is lumwana and zambia breweries are pumping money in the sport for the sake of all zambians not him. if he think he cant impress us let him resign for we have local coaches like patrick phiri ,wedson nyirenda and fighton simukonda who can take the team very far.guys from the start this renard thing was only interested in taking team to the african cup not the word cup according to his sentiments together with kalu,switch you guys .dont waste tax payers money,because we can use it to give increament to nurses and teacher because it will benefit some zambians if not all.
Well played to the algeria team for winning the game. We still hope to spoil it for them like we did to Egypt when we go to there they should undermine us at their peril. As for our boys they have done well so far despite this game we know what we lacked. its time someone started polishing the fine tuning process.
These are the most telling times of who has character and is who a doubting thomas . When you are down and i can see you two guys have no character what so ever .Number one I feel this is still in our hands we have a the same chance of qualfying as egypt ie we still have a possible nine points to harness and for you guys to give up is disheartening .whomever told you it was going to be an easy ride to World cup 2010 was lying to you .And I hope to God we dont have any players in our squad who think like you guys.If i remember very the ivorians lost at home to cameroon but still made So if we learn from our mistakes and pick our selves up we will in south africa in 2010 remember we have a possible nine point and if we win our three games i dont why we shouldnt be in south africa .As arsene wenger would say ” I have a strong belief in this side ” and to the doubting thomases. I say have a bit of belief in your team .I am not naive to the fact that momentum is with the algerians but if a team like Man u had the same character of fan4life and lenteni acca the would not keep coming from behind season after season and winning the premiership .So to all my Zambia friends and fellow bloggers this was reality check and not the end of the road for chipolopolo .We should only stop believing when its out of our hands and as far am concerned its still in our hands .So lets support our boys to the end .
Hard but real … Zambia has 100% chance of bouncing with a bang … to start with congrants to the algerian guys, yes we won the game but they scored the goals which a critical to accumualtion of points … game wise we are a better side … hop is what i have and like ive said before this is our time to create new and great records, we can still properly beat Algeria in the next game, forget about the crowd … this is football which can is unpredictable at times … imagine foxes beating our super boys at home??? warning to the d foxes, we are a great team … i wish our team well … the guys/team is ok only need not to panic at goal mouth … i say it shall be well … God bless the republic in all spheres of life … Zambian guys, Proverbs says ‘when you faint in the day of trouble how small is your strength??? so Zambian guys we should never be hopeless and start pointing fingers anyhow, if with the same team we can win smart … better die with hope than none at at all … Go Zambia Go Zambia and lecture Algeria at home … thanks and shalom. 0977 845028 (Simmz hi ma friend)
We have to add a new dimension to this battle. I dont know how you will turn those chances into goals. Is it patrick phiri to do a South Africa? Try friendlies! President Banda sir, sit kalu down. Better to try!
Hard truths from Ba Dinamo. There’s no beating about the bush, you are right, it is a major issue. I think if we dominate a game the way we do, if we get in those positions in the corners and in front of goal, we should score goals (plural). There’s NO reason why Chris, Given or Jacob shouldn’t be scoring them! We’ll see.
^ Scoring goals should not be an act of individual brilliance or something extra ordinary, it should simply science for us.
People can say it was afterwards, but we must remember it’s not.
Fox this fox that. Super fox ,desert fox, older fox. Nalema navo
Wow..if this is the kind of optimism we as fans hav for our team then its beta Algeria qualifies-period!!!
Pipo busy calling for an exodus of changes and wat hav u,gosh!!!! The same team that EVERYONE was praising afta Egypt game is the same team & coach u want to hang todae!!!??? Football is not for the faint-hearted,if u cant stand a loss,go watch tennis or golf…I am not sayin its ‘OK to lose’ no,am saying we played very well,much improved performance from Rwanda game but luck was not just on our side yestadae…Ask yorself-’ how many chances did Algeria create and hw many did they actually bury??’ We are not immune to losing,no,thats a right we have to earn-the hard way!!!! Our team needs all the support now more than eva B4,our road to a dream apperance at the world cup is NOT ova..but,we hav just made it that little bit more harder on ourselves…I believe in the team and in the coach;if u dont agri..wel,dats ur problem but kip in mind dat even ur Man U,Chelsea,Real-wat-hav-u also lose the odd game,sumthing went wrong yestadae & we quickly nid to fix it…
Gesh you are the man, these same people that are crying were predicting a blow out. As soon as things go wrong they turn their back on the team, I had predicted a tough game. I knew what we were in for, now its clear that we just cant score a goal. Maybe if We get rid of the goal keeper We just might be able to hit the back of the net. Get that boy from Congo or something.
The trend of changing players everytime we lose has to stop.
Hey people….what we are going through is a true reflection of management and adminstration failure of soccer in the country, starting from the sports minister to FAZ house..these guys have to be shown the door.
yes we ‘might’ not have strikers but when was the last time these guys a had an good(i mean good in terms of opposition) international friendly????
And how does one explain training in south africa and playing against orlando pirates reserve???..and winning the 7/5 nil??…
The Polish national team was here, someone with contacts like kalu should have close a deal with them, they(the polish) played friendlies with bafana bafana and iraq…and we played against orlardo pirates reserve.yaba! Am NOT saying thats the reason why we lost..but simply hightlightening one of the many small failure which lead to a big failure a any team, mismanagement
I think chipungu and the whole FAZ team should gooooooooooo!
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correct! right to the point!