Sichone described the encounter against Bafana Bafana as a “cup final”.
Zambia coach Moses Sichone has accused South Africa of underestimating his team ahead of their encounter this coming weekend.
Chipolopolo will meet Bafana Bafana in an international friendly at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday (kick-off is at 3pm).
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Both nations will use the match to gauge their readiness for next month’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
Speaking to the Zambian media, Sichone described the encounter against Bafana Bafana as a “cup final”.
It will be Sichone’s first game in charge of Chipolopolo after replacing former Chelsea coach Avram Grant, who was sacked despite qualifying the team for the AFCON.
“We are expecting a tough game against South Africa. And we also want to give them a good friendly game. So, we are not just going there to go and play. We’re taking it so seriously, and we also want to win the game because South Africa qualified for the World Cup, and it’s a good test for us,” said Sichone.
“As a technical bench, we are taking this game as if it’s a cup final. We know that they have underrated us. I’ve been reading some comments which are coming from South Africa. They wanted to play Brazil, but for us, we take it as it comes. So, we are taking this game very seriously, and we hope to go and get a positive result.”
‘This is not a friendly game’
Meanwhile, Bafana coach Hugo Broos insists that Saturday’s game against Zambia is not about improving any aspects of their game, but it is about cementing their reputation on the continental stage.
“Yeah, you can always improve, but I don’t think that you take a friendly game to improve something, not at this moment,” said Broos.
“This is a game to confirm again how good we are and what a good team we are, and that is, that confirmation I want to see, I want to see Saturday. I think the most important thing for Saturday is that you play a good game and that we play on our level, like we did in the previous years,” added Broos before making his expectations clear ahead of the Zambia game.
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“This is not a friendly game. I want to see the Bafana Bafana that I saw the last few months and years. A team who has a good mentality, who wants to win the game, who is going for every ball, for every metre.”
