'Togo won't have it easy': home, hurt and already cornered — Lwandamina's Chipolopolo reach the must-win in Ndola

The charter flight home touched down at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport on Saturday afternoon, and with it the arithmetic landed too: after one round of 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, Zambia are bottom of Group I with zero points, while Tuesday's visitors to Ndola — Togo, 1-0 winners over Burundi in Lomé — sit level with Algeria at the top. The Algerian inquest is over. The Togo week has begun.

George Lwandamina's post-match honesty in Tizi Ouzou has set the tone. "It was a tough match and the boys played well," the interim coach said after Friday's 3-1 defeat. "Away from home, it wasn't easy for them, but they fought to the bitter end." Then the diagnosis: "Few mistakes, of course, and we were punished. Injuries also affected us. We had to make changes which we wouldn't have made, and that cost us the game." Algeria, he conceded with a scout's admiration, are built differently: "You can even make ten teams here in Algeria."

The home dressing room will look different from the one that started in Kabylie. Fashion Sakala's 57th-minute equaliser on Friday — the captain's riposte after a week of brave words — is the attacking reference point, with Patson Daka having come on at half-time to sharpen the front line. Kings Kangwa remains absent, serving the four-match CAF ban that rules him out of the entire September and November windows. The brighter bulletin concerns Gamphani Lungu: the Orlando Pirates winger, named in the squad despite a hamstring strain, was given ten days to recover and is expected to be available for Tuesday. How many of Friday's walking wounded join him is the question Lwandamina's medical staff will answer between now and Monday's final session.

The coach's message to the Copperbelt is not subtle. "Definitely, we need to win our home games if we are to qualify. Togo won't have it easy," he said — and framed the bigger bet on his young squad: "This is a young team and they are coping very well. We can actually change the tables. The boys are fighting very hard and, with a little bit of experience in the team, I'm sure we'll be able to bring them together."

Kick-off at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium is 18:00 CAT on Tuesday, 29 September. Tickets remain on sale through FAZ's TechPay app and agents in Ndola, and the federation is leaning on its Copperbelt structures to fill the ground. Nine matches without a win is the statistic that follows this team into the tunnel; a tenth would not end the campaign, but it would make November's double-header against Burundi feel very much like one.

Sources: Lusaka Times, "Chipolopolo will bounce back against Togo – Lwandamina" (26 Sep 2026); FAZ Media via ZambianFootball.co.zm (26 Sep 2026); BolaNews on the Lungu fitness plan (14 Sep 2026).