. Mangani
From ELIAS CHIPEPO in Suwon –
ZAMBIA goalkeeper Mangani Banda says the team must aim at keeping a clean sheet when they face Italy tomorrow in a FIFA Under-20 World Cup quarterfinal match here in South Korea.
Mangani said after a training session at the Suwon World Cup Stadium auxiliary pitch that the team would have to work hard to win the match but also aim at not conceding goals.
Zambia has scored 10 goals but struggled to keep a clean sheet in all the four games played so far.
The first match saw Zambia beat Portugal 2-1 and had gone 2-0 down before thumping Iran 4-2 before losing 1-0 to Costa Rica in the Group C final game.
Zambia then played Germany winning 4-3 to concede seven goals at the tournament and Mangani wants that trend stopped beginning with the match against Italy.
“I think so far so good, we back in training and we put that tough game against Germany behind us.
We just have to continue working hard and especially for us defenders we need to make sure we keep a clean sheet starting with this match against Italy,” the Zanaco goal minder said.
He said the team would take each game as it would come before talking of reaching the final and playing the final.
Mangani said games would get tougher as the competition progresses and that Zambia would need to be at their best especially that every team is focussing on beating the African champions.
