Zambia v Sudan
Venue: Estadio de Bata
Date & Time: Saturday, 04 February Kick-off: 1600 GMT
Live Update: www.NileSports.tv
Zambia coach Herve Renard has only 21 players to choose from after expelling Clifford Mulenga for indiscipline while defender Kampamba Chintu is injured.
Chintu’s absence will not be keenly felt since he has been unused so far.
Sudan coach Mohamed ‘Mazda’ Abdallah has been given a boost by the return from injury of both defender Nagm Eldin and goalkeeper Akram.
Both were stretchered off in Monday’s long-awaited win over Burkina Faso but have since resumed training.
History beckons for both Zambia and Sudan as they battle to reach the semi-finals of the Nations Cup.
The Chipolopolo are aiming to reach the last four for the first time since 1996, while the Sudanese will be contesting their first Nations Cup quarter-final in history.
The last time the East Africans reached the knock-out stages, when winning the tournament itself in 1970, they went straight to the semi-finals since there were only eight teams at the finals.
And coach Mohamed ‘Mazda’ Abdallah is wary of the threat presented by the Chipolopolo, saying: “Zambia are a fast, well-organised team which has achieved good result and we must prepare tactically and physically.”
