[ 2012-02-05 ]

Renard hails "efficient" Zambia after win over Sudan
Zambia coach Herve Renard has hailed his team for
the "efficient" way they sailed through to the
semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Chipolopolo beat Sudan 3-0 in Bata on Saturday
and go through to face either Tunisia or Ghana in
the semis.

"I don't say we played well, but I say we did
well," the French coach told BBC Sport after the
game.

"We were efficient today. Some people might have
thought it was easy - it wasn't."

The match was played out in an almost empty
stadium in Bata and Renard admitted that this made
it harder for his team to raise their game.

"I told the players there are millions of Zambians
[watching on television] and people around Africa,
Europe and the world," Renard said.

Chipolopolo captain Chris Katongo, one of the
goalscorers on the night, admitted that Sudan's
tactics had made life difficult for his team, even
when they were leading.

"Sudan try to frustrate you (and) play the long
ball - that's their strength," he said.

"That's not our type of football, but the most
important thing was for us to get an early goal
and start playing on the ground.

"In the second half we controlled the ball, scored
two more goals and the way we played was
fantastic."

Zambia were knocked out in the quarter-finals two
years ago and their aim at this tournament was
always to go better than that.

With that target achieved, they are setting their
sights on another - a place in the final in Gabon
- off whose coast most of the national team died
in a plane crash in 1993.

Renard said the incident is a strong motivating
factor for his squad, especially as Wednesday's
semi-final will be played in Equatorial Guinea.

"We have another target - to reach Gabon on 12
February for the circumstances we know, the
catastrophe of 1993," the coach said.

"That will be another sign for the destiny of
Zambia - but it's far [away] at the moment."

Source - BBC

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