Herve Renard
By Zambian journalist NEBAT MBEWE of Zambia Daily Mail
AFTER last Saturday?s debacle at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, a colleague, with tongue in cheek, asked if all the players the Sudanese used in holding Zambia to a 1-1 draw were eligible.
It was a futile attempt to lighten the anguish of the Chipolopolo ?giving away? two priceless points and thus virtually surrendering the quest for World Cup qualification.
It is now advantaged Ghana who are playing superbly well, are topping Group D on 12 points ? one ahead of Zambia – and host the Chipolopolo in Kumasi for the decisive match in September.
Even the most optimistic Zambian fans surely now know that the Chipolopolo?s dream for a maiden appearance at the World Cup finals is in a mess, and agonisingly so because it is by and large self-inflicted.
No matter how patriotic one may want to be, the reality staring down at the Chipolopolo is that it will take an incredible feat to dim the Black Stars, who would also have to have a drastic dip in form in the last game.
Unfortunately for Zambia, the Black Stars are evidently well focused on the challenge ahead. They are not taking anything for granted.
Past differences are being patched up with the help of the highest office in the land and Prodigal sons are returning to the fold.
They are stocking up all the arsenal they can get hold of and I can bet you the last ngwee in my piggy bank that against Zambia they will not play for a draw (which is good enough for them), but an outright win.
The Ghanaians are bound to be wary of Zambia?s inconsistence as well as the edge the Chipolopolo have over the Black Stars in the most recent exchanges.
Zambia beat Ghana 1-0 in the semi-finals of the Afcon 2012 finals in Equatorial Guinea on the way to winning the title for the first time. The Chipolopolo got the better of the Black Stars by the same margin again in June last year in the first exchange of the current race for the Brazil 2014 World Cup finals.
Will Zambia once again use Ghana as a stepping stone, this time for eventual qualification for the World Cup finals? Some fans believe this will be so. Some contend that with lots of prayer, Zambia can progress even against all odds. This is despite the fact the Ghanaians are more prayerful, in number, than Zambians.
Some players say they can deliver the result Zambia?s fans desire. Would you blame the fans if they take the latest players? assurances with a handful of salt considering that we have heard these pledges before?
In fact, this pledge was made as recent as last week when the word was that there is no way Sudan would beat Zambia. Indeed Sudan did not beat Zambia but the Chipolopolo lost two points.
Tens of thousands of fans converged on Levy Mwanawasa Stadium expecting another great feast a week after the Chipolopolo thrashed Lesotho 4-0, forgetting momentarily how the team can be inconsistent with its results.
One moment the performance is great, and the next their act makes you wish your energies and resources were spent more on another sport like nsolo.
The Sudanese taught the Zambians the art of frustrating opponents. They did it so well that you would wish Zambia could replicate it against the Ghanaians.
You, however, don?t lose hope even if it is a micro-thread you are hanging on to, after all the Chipolopolo are so consistently inconsistent that from the extreme of failing to beat a reconstituted Sudanese side, they just could pull off another surprise by dimming the Black Stars.
There are only 80 days in which to prepare for this tall order.
