Grant pleased with Zambia's progress

by Staff Reporter

Monday Mar 27, 2023. 10:32

Zambia head coach Avram Grant believes his team are moving in the right direction after kicking off his tenure with back-to-to-back wins over Lesotho in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Grant was handed the reins on a two-year contract in December 2022 as a permanent replacement for Aljosa Asanovic, who resigned three months earlier over a financial dispute with the Football Association of Zambia.

The Israeli tactician guided the Copper Bullets to a 3-1 victory over the Crocodiles in Ndola on Thursday and saw his side move to the top of Group H with a 2-0 triumph in the return leg at the Dobsonville Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa on Sunday.

Patson Daka (14′, 69′) scored a goal in each half to down the Southern Africans at the weekend and Grant is seeing early progress from his players after admitting their performances improved from the encounter on home soil.

“We are on the right track although nothing is finished yet even though we have nine points,” he said in the post-match press conference.

“This process is moving well because we have won the first two matches when I was in charge and the team has played better than in the first match.”

Grant reserved special praise for Daka, who took his tally for the national team to 11 goals in 34 appearances.

“In the first match a few days ago Daka did a lot of running and today he showed very good finishing as a striker,” the 67-year-old added.