Too late to react": Sichone explains the Zambian shipwreck after the 3-0 loss against Morocco

The match scenario surprised the Zambian camp. "The match did not go as we had hoped, but that’s how football is," the coach conceded after the match. According to him, the psychological factor played a role, admitting that "the players sometimes felt tension" in the face of the challenge. A nervousness that was paid for dearly, because as Sichone pointed out, "the Moroccan team better exploited the mistakes we made".

Despite an attempt to react after the break, the coach regretted that it was "too late" to "straighten the situation". Fair-play, he was keen to "congratulate the Moroccan team for their victory". For Zambia, the time has now come for reconstruction. "It’s hard to leave the competition early, but we can’t change anything," he said, recalling that "it’s never too late to build a solid team" and stressing that "football needs time, investment and patience".