Zambia will have at least one player flying the flag in the group stage of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League this season.
Striker Fashion Sakala’s Glasgow Rangers qualified to the group stages following a 1-0 away win over Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday evening.
Rangers advanced to the group stage 3-2 on aggregate. The 2021/22 Scottish Premiership runners-up qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2010/11 season.
Sakala had something extra to celebrate about on the night in Eindhoven when he finally got his first feel of competitive action this season.
It wasn’t much, but the Chipolopolo striker came on in stoppage time of 90 minutes for goal scorer Antonio Colak.
It will be the first time Zambia will have some representation in the UEFA Champions League group stage since the 2019/2020 season when striker Patson Daka and midfielder Enock Mwepu featured for perennial Austrian champions RB Salzburg.
Chipolopolo Zambia Midfielder Klings Kangwa’s UEFA Champions League group stage dreams were dashed on Tuesday night when his Serbian Red Star Belgrade was knockout at the pre-group stage.
The match ended 2-2 against Maccabi Haifa of Israel at home in Belgrade to see the Serbian champions bow out 5-4 on aggregate.
Kangwa did make an appearance as a second-half substitute in the 53rd minute of the tie that was sealed with a stoppage-time own-goal by his teammate Milan Pavkov.
With that result, Red Star is relegated to the UEFA Europa League.
