CASABLANCA, Morocco: Zambia fought back to draw 1-1 with neighbours Namibia Monday and top Group B at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Morocco on goal difference.
The Zambians and Namibians, who had already qualified for the last eight, finished with seven points. Uganda and the 2016 bronze medalists the Ivory Coast managed just one following a 0-0 draw in a match played simultaneously.
Absalom Iimbondi put Namibia ahead direct from a free-kick on 12 minutes at Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca and Lazarous Kambole levelled off a cut-back on 24 minutes. It was the second goal for striker Kambole in a tournament restricted to home-based footballers, and the first for winger Iimbondi.
Zambia will play Group A runners-up Sudan in the quarter-finals in Marrakech this weekend a few hours after Namibia confront Group A winners and title favourites Morocco in Casablanca. A Moroccan team backed by an expected 45,000 crowd are expected to reach the semi-finals at the expense of the Namibians, who have exceeded expectations by reaching the knockout phase.
The clash between free-flowing Zambia and well-organised Sudan — countries who have finished third in previous editions of the Nations Championship — is difficult to predict. By failing to defeat Uganda in Marrakech, African football powerhouses the Ivory Coast bowed out without scoring a single goal.