Interim Chipolopolo Zambia coach Moses Sichone says they missed the services of midfielder Enock Mwepu and striker Patson Daka in Friday’s away friendly loss to Mali.
Zambia kicked off their two-match friendly tour of Mali with a 1-0 defeat at Stade Du 26 Mars in Bamako.
But the build-up to the match was overshadowed by the withdrawal of Leicester City striker Daka and Brighton & Hove Alboin midfielder Mwepu.
Mwepu and Daka are both in Bamako with Chipolopolo but have been ruled out for both friendlies due to illness.
ON MISSING DAKA AND MWEPU
“Of course, it is unfortunate that Patson and Mwepu couldn’t play. These are our senior players for sure,” Sichone said.
“They could have made a change in the game, but that is why we came with 23 players, so we have other players to replace them.”
Meanwhile, Mali had a good first half in which they scored a very early goal in the 7th minute through striker El Bilal Troure of Spanish club Almeria.
Chipolopolo could have gone level into the break, but midfielder Edward Chilufya of Denmark club Midtjylland saw his shot on the stroke of halftime cleared off the line by Mali goalkeeper Ismael Diawara.
Zambia improved after the break, with Glasgow Rangers striker Fashion Sakala coming close in the 53rd minute.
Sakala’s replacement in the 80th minute Ricky Banda of Zambian Red Arrows also had a great chance just seven minutes after coming on, but it was deflected for a corner.
“I am not worried about the score line, but the most important thing is the performance of the team,” Sichone said.
Sichone is a stand-in coach in the absence of Croatian Aljosa Asanovic, who is locked in an administrative dispute with the Football Association of Zambia.
Chipolopolo warp-up their Mali friendly tour on September 26 at the same venue.
