Congo Brazzaville U23 skipper Ombandza Zoe says his team is not scared of the Chipolopolo boys because they are and have been underdogs from immemorial.

Zoe told journalists during a pre-match briefing that Brazzaville would take advantage of Chipolopolo’s underdog status and ensure that they give Zambia a good game.

“We are here to play football and we will do our best to ensure that we play football. And there is one point that I would like to mention, one point before i forget, as you know Zambia and Congo Brazzaville history is already showing us that the Zambians are underdogs to us and so we are not scared of them,” he said.

And Brazzavile coach Jean Elie Ngoya says he is building a team that will progress gradually into the different categories of the national side just like Zambia has done over the years.

“I would like to mention one thing that Zambia is a team and we are a selected team. And what we mean is that you have a project of the team which has been progressing gradually to where it is. But us, we are trying to find ourselves and maybe that’s the reason that we are saying that we are a selected team. We have got young players that are there for us for the future, you are already there with your team. That’s the difference between us and the Zambia team. We are trying to find ourselves, we are in need of creating such a strong team. I would like to say that yes I have been following the Zambia U23 team since they were U20,” he said.

“But I cannot tell you who is a threat to our team. Working under pressure I don’t think So, the reason is that I am a professional coach. The reason is that I follow activities of the team. Looking at the way we eliminated Burundi, Burundi had been playing at the AFCON U20 games, and we are not but we knocked them out. That’s already an achievement. And even if we are knocked out at this stage I wouldn’t mind but as a professional we won’t allow it.”

Meanwhile Chipolopolo coach Beston Chambeshi told journalists that the team will play attacking football to ensure that maximum points are collected ahead of the second game slated for Sunday.

“For sure we will play attacking football. We are at home, we have to ensure that we collect maximum points. We are not under pressure. For sure it is very difficult to select the starting eleven because we now have more professionals. But that is a good thing for the country.”

And Chipolopolo skipper Fashion Sakala said the players have been ready for the encounter against the Congolese side.

“To be honest there is no pressure at all for us. We will face this challenge as a team and we put everything in God. Our job is to deliver according to expectations.”