Stage Fright Blamed for Zambia U-20’s Stalemate Against Sierra Leone

Zambia Under-20 defender Milimo Nalumango says the team has attributed Sunday’s goalless draw against Sierra Leone at the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to stage fright.

The Young Chipolopolo opened their Group A campaign with a goalless draw against the debuting Shooting Stars and will now shift their attention to the match against Egypt this Saturday.

Speaking in an interview, Nalumango says the draw was an eye-opener of what to expect and what is expected of the team going into the match.

“It was a good icebreaker into the tournament. Like, we now know what to expect, the kind of pressure we’re going to face on the pitch. So going forward, we should expect a lot more and provide a lot more coming from us,” Nalumango said.

The towering defender states that playing with the host team will be tough.

He, however, believes it is an opportunity to show intent to progress further in the tournament.

There’s definitely pressure that comes with it. Playing against the host nation is now an opportunity to make a statement as to how we’ll approach the tournament. It’s definitely going to be a tough game, but a good game as well,” Nalumango stated.

Nalumango is optimistic the Boyd Mulwanda drilled side will overcome stage fright in the next match.

“There was a lot of stage fright on the pitch. The nerves hit us, being the opening game of the tournament, the first game being played. There’s definitely a lot of nerves. I think we had certain amounts of doubt in each other. But, as the tournament progresses, I think these are things we can use to get over.”

Zambia is now fourth in the group with one point after South Africa rebounded from a 1-0 defeat to beat Tanzania 1-0 with Sierra Leone sitting top with four points after thrashing hosts Egypt 4-1 on Wednesday evening.