World Cup (Q): ‘I don’t know if Zambia will qualify’ – Grant ahead of Tanzania clash

Zambia national team head coach Avram Grant says his focus is to win the final two Group E matches and aim for a second-place finish of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Speaking during a pre-match press conference at the Amani Stadium in Zanzibar ahead of their matchday nine fixture against hosts Tanzania, the former Chelsea coach said the target is to aim for second place finish and hope for one of the four spots for the play-offs.

The Chipolopolo will wind up Group E matches with back-to-back ties with Tanzania and Niger on Wednesday (today) and Thursday respectively.

 Zambia should avoid mistakes

“We are ready for the game. I do not know if we do not have a chance to qualify but we have a chance to finish second in the group. We will do our best and win the games. Calculations will be done afterwards,” said Grant as quoted by FAZ Media.

“It’s part of the winning mentality. We did a good process in Zambia in the last two and a half years. We have qualified for the AFCON. I didn’t like this qualification phase to the World Cup.

“We wanted to qualify for the first time in the history of Zambia but I am sure we will continue in this course; we will qualify for sure. At the moment, we have these two games to concentrate on and try to win them.”

He further said Zambia should avoid mistakes that made them lose the first leg at home to Tanzania.

“In football just like in life, mistakes are part of the game. I can say its learning. We made mistakes against Morocco and Tanzania but we want to learn from this.

“We spoke about this and I’m sure that we will not make these mistakes again. Because there were similar mistakes in the last two games in Tanzania and we don’t want to do it again.”

The two sides will be aiming to keep their chances of finishing second and hope for one of the four second best placed finishers that will qualify to the play-offs.

Group winners across the nine streams automatically qualify to the FIFA World Cup while four second best placed teams proceed to the play-offs where the eventual winner will grab the tenth spot for CAF.

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