Zambia’s head coach, Avram Grant, has announced a list of 24 players for the AFCON qualifier against Ivory Coast on November 15 and Sierra Leone. However, key striker Leicester City’s Patson Daka is absent once again.
Leicester City forward Patson Daka is not available even though he has returned to training with his team. He injured himself during Leicester’s final preseason match and has been out since.
Lameck Banda, a winger from Serie A, returns to the squad after missing the last two qualifiers against Chad. He will lead the attack at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, along with Kennedy Musonda and Kelvin Mubanga Kampamba.
Midfielder Miguel Chaiwa is also unavailable. He is expected to be out for several months after injuring his ankle in a recent match against Chad.
Three other players—Edward Chilufya, Lubambo Musonda, and Fashion Sakala—are also injured and will miss the match. Young player Kingston Mutandwa is out due to injury and is not in the squad.
The team will start training on Monday in Ndola. They will play Ivory Coast on November 15 at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, starting at 18:00. Four days later, they will finish their qualification campaign against Sierra Leone.
Zambia is currently in second place in the group with seven points, two points behind Ivory Coast, who leads with nine points. Sierra Leone is third with four points, and Chad is last with two points.
