• Fentanes

By GRACE CHAILE  –

ZAMBIA Under-17 tactician, Sergio Fentanes says the players have been well prepared to face any opponent at the Niger 2015 Africa Junior Championship that gets underway on Sunday.
Fentanes, who has been attached as a technical analyst, said the players have been technically and tactically prepared and has since tipped them to shine at the tournament that will run from February 15 to March 1.
The Mexican urged the players to target maximum points off Guinea because it would be important for Zambia to begin with a win to stand a better chance of progressing to the last four.
Zambia is in Group A with hosts Niger, Guinea and Nigeria while Group B has Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa, Mali and Cameroun.
“I am happy with what I saw in training and I can confidently say that the team will go far at the tournament but it will be important for them to win the opening match to gain the confidence to reach the semi-finals,” he said.
Fentanes said in an interview after yesterday’s training session that he has watched Zambia’s opponents’ kind of play and expressed confidence that the lads would pick up victories.
He said it would be important that the players continue working hard because they were capable of winning their matches in the group to qualify for the semi finals.
Fentanes, who was attached to the Chipolopolo at the just ended 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Equatorial Guinea, said most of the players in the team gained enough experience having played with teams like Spain and Italy during Dalle Nazioni invitational tournament last year.
“Playing team’s like Spain and Italy is a plus for the team going into such a high profiled tournament as it provides good experience for the players. The team has all it takes to reach the semi finals,” he said.
That tournament saw Zambia hold Brazil to a 2-2 all following successive defeats to Israel and Italy losing by identical score of 2-0.
Coach Chris Kaunda said the players have been psychologically and technically prepared for the tournament and nothing will stop them from reaching the semi-finals.
Kaunda said the morale in camp was high and that the players are aware of what will be at stake as they seek to make history by reaching the semi-finals to secure qualification to Chile 2015 FIFA World Cup finals.
Meanwhile,  Zambia take on Guinea on Sunday in an evening kick-off before playing the hosts on Wednesday in an 18:00 hours kickoff and wraps up the group engagements with a tie against Nigeria in a 16:30 hours clash.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the semi finals and subsequently qualify for the 2015 FIFA World Cup finals.