. Chissano

By FELIX MALUNGA –
MOZAMBIQUE coach, Joao Chissano says beating Zambia on November 15 is the only surest way for the Mambas to reach the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals.
Chissano told the Mozambican media that the Mambas lost the last Group F match in Cape Verde because of the synthetic turf in Praia which did not play to their advantage.
He said now Mozambique had a chance to make amends at home when the Chipolopolo come calling at the Estadio do Zimpeto in Maputo next weekend.
Cape Verde leads Group F on nine points with Zambia and Mozambique trailing on five points but the Chipolopolo are second by virtue of having a better goal aggregate while Niger are rooted at the foot of the chart with two points.
Chissano said the Mambas now needed to end the Chipolopolo’s 25-year dominance by beating the 2012 AFCON champions and qualify to next year’s continental football showpiece.
Zambia and Mozambique have met 17 times with the Chipolopolo winning 14 times while the other matches which include the September 6 fixture in Ndola ended in draws.
“The synthetic turf in our last match against Cape Verde did not play to our advantage and now we are playing at home, we only have one way out which is to beat Zambia and qualify,” he said.
The former Mambas’ player believes that Mozambique were capable of beating Zambia, saying anything was possible in football.
Chissano, however, emphasised the need for the Mambas to work hard if they were to qualify to the 2015 AFCON finals.
“The qualification still depends on us and we will continue to work for that,” he told the local media.