Five things Chipolopolo need to do to whack Lesotho There are many reasons why Chipolopolo failed to defend its African Nations Cup title in South Africa. We analyse five areas in need of serious attention before Likuena come calling in the second Leg World Cup qualifier slated for Ndola’s Levy Mwanawasa Stadium on Saturday, 8th June, 2013: 1. Strong emphasis on Attack Zambia, under coach Herve Renard, tends to feature a lone striker or two upfront. Usually it will be Mbesuma at the top with Christopher Katongo on his shoulder or slightly behind him. Another variation would see Emmanuel Mayuka as the top guy and Christopher Katongo in support. This offensive set-up is wired to counter-attack and is premised on the wingers – Rainford Kalaba and Chisamba Lungu/Fwayo Tembo joining the front men when in attack and Isaac Chansa (previously) pushing up as well. The best combination appears to be Mbesuma and Mayuka, as the latter is a lot more selfless than katongo and has the energy to ran at defences while Mbesuma is very clever around the box and uses his massive frame to carve out chances in front of goal. Jacob Mulenga can also play the role of main striker or as a foil for either Mbesuma or Mayuka. Mulenga brings to the team real quality aerial power which Zambia has lacked for a long time. James Chamanga, on the other hand, is a real quality finisher but has suffered from the misfortune of missing very clear chances. Given extended play in the side, he is able to show his prodigious finishing qualities. It can only be a guess whether Renard will feature an out-and-out two or three-pronged attack with advanced midfield back-up or will he opt for a safer 4-4-1-1. With five strikers in the team, will Renard play one or two of them and leave the rest sulking? 2. Improve on set pieces Modern football has seen the emergence of tight and mean defences. As a result, it is never easy to break down teams defensively and score bucket load of goals. Chipolopolo struggled against both Lesotho away and against Ethiopia at the Africa Cup of Nations because the opposition defences sat deep and waited to break up play. Good execution of set-pieces through corners and free-kicks are ways to side-step deep-seating tight defences. Zambia has not done a good job of executing dead balls. Kalaba, the main dead-ball executor, will be missing against Lesotho. From long range, Chipolopolo relies on Hichani Himoonde to unleash ferocious ones at goal but the execution has been generally poor. This is an area needing emphasis by the coach. Chisamba Lungu’s delivery at set pieces is much more creative and well-measured. If he plays, he should be given the main dead-ball responsibilities. But will this be the case? 3. Creativity in central midfield Ever since Belgium-based Charles Musonda hung-up his boots decades ago, Zambia has lacked quality attacking creativity in central midfield. The emergence of Andrew Sinkala seemed to rekindle creativity but he was a much more deeper-lying pivot like Italy’s Pirlo. Rainford Kalaba, the player suited to an attacking central midfield role, has never been played in his right position. Obviously between now and Saturday, Chipolopolo cannot manufacture a creative midfield genius. They will have to work with the tools they have. The ready-made one is Power Dynamos’ Mukuka Mulenga. He is offensively minded and a good distributor of the ball. Will the coach go for Mulenga or will he opt for security and deploy a defensively minded grafter? This will be one of the most telling decisions Renard will make. 4. Quality crossing from the wings The lack of quality crosses from the Chipolopolo wings is almost a disease. Away against Lesotho in the first leg of the World Cup qualifier, Kalaba and Fwayo Tembo tended to cut into midfield and allow Davies Nkausu and Emmanuel Mbola to overlap and ping in crosses. The delivery was awful. Even when Chistopher Katongo plays wide his delivery is never measured. Chisamba Lungu puts in delightful balls and if he plays on Saturday he could be the player to make a difference for Zambia. The essence of good deliveries from the wings is because visiting teams tend to mass at the back and flighted balls are opportunities to disorient their backline. Will Chipolopolo exploit this avenue on Saturday? 5. Solid no-nonsense defending The two goals Zambia conceded at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations were error- induced and all due to lapses in concentration. Zambia hardly ever concedes goals as a result of being out-played. Against Ethiopia, it was Chisamba Lungu’s failure to close down an attacker that resulted in the goal. Against Nigeria, it was again Lungu being dispossessed by John Obi Mikel and teeing up Emenike to score. In Lesotho, the Likuena’s equaliser was as a result of the Zambian midfield going to sleep and allowing a shot from long-range to be driven in. Such lapses at home may turn the home supporters against the team and this has to be avoided. There can be no room for error against Lesotho. The defensive tasks have to be approached with single-minded doggedness. Without Sunzu in defence and Mweene in goal there remains a lot of uncertainty at the back. It is hoped that the absence of the two has not created gaping holes for Likuena to exploit. newafricanfootball
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:51:21 +0000
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