Coach Micho Draws positives from Benin stalemate

By Saasa Munalula | June 9, 2021

Addressing the press after watching the Chipolopolo Boys surrender a 2-1 lead at halftime to draw 2 -2 away against Benin, Coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic took time to note positives from the match.

“I don’t have any regrets. Every single change we have made has been capable to help us.

The only question we didn’t answer was when we couldn’t close the spaces infront of our defense,” he said.

“The opponent was opting for the aerial balls and we didn’t have the answer. We needed to defend with a holding midfield to correct this mistake,” the Serbian gaffer observed.

“This is a lesson we can learn. Based on this lesson, football was teaching us.

We want to learn the lesson so that come September World Cup Qualifiers against Mauritania and Tunisia, we would have prepared well,” he remarked.

Coach Micho went on to state the importance of trying different player combinations in the absence of several key players.

“Several of our first team starters have not been around. And we wanted to widen the pool of the players that will help us in the World Cup Qualifiers.

This match is worth more than 30 training matches. Because as a player you cannot hide here. This is a real competitive situation,” he cautioned.

“It gives us so many lessons. Who can and who can not.

I am very happy with what we have put [together]. Whatever is wrong we need to correct and whatever was right we want to keep it up,” he alluded.

“I believe the match was helping us to grow up as a unit and as a team,” Coach Micho concluded.

Next on the itinerary for the Chipolopolo Boys is a stop in Khartoum ahead of the final friendly match against Sudan in Omdurman on Friday 11th June.

Zambia will be looking to end the international tour on a winning note having lost the first match to Senegal by 3-1 before the two-all draw with Benin.