Nyirenda: Zambia Targeting Future Goals, Not Beating Nigeria To 2018 World Cup Ticket

By Rilwan Musa Gawu -


Chipolopolo of Zambia coach Wedson Nyirenda says his team's aim in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier is not to qualify ahead of Nigeria, Cameroon and Algeria but rather build a solid team for the future.
Zambia are currently third on just one point in Group B. Nigeria top the group on six points, African champions Cameroon are second on two points, while Algeria are bottom with one point.
In their first game of the qualifiers, Zambia lost 2-1 at home to Nigeria in October 2016 before holding Cameroon to a 1-1 away draw in November, 2016.
In an interview with FIFA.com, Nyirenda states that he sees some positives about being paired with such strong opponents.‎
“It is an excellent group, we have big names and looking at our team, our main objective is to rebuild the team. Playing in this group will expose players to the highest level, playing the biggest teams," Nyirenda tells FIFA.com.‎
“We have a very big job to do, that is to build the team, but at the same time, we have to qualify for tournaments. Having been drawn into such a great group, we can just hope for the best as we do need to keep our fans happy.

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