Zambian Coach: Morocco Has ‘the Best Team in Africa’

Rabat – Coach of the Zambian national football team Avram Grant spoke last week about the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, particularly Group E, saying that his team will face the “best team in Africa” in Morocco’s Atlas Lions.

The Atlas Lions, who are vying to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for a third time in a row, were placed in Group E of the African qualifiers together with Eritrea, Niger, Tanzania, Congo Brazzaville, and Zambia.

Having won the 22nd edition of the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) tournament last week in the South African city of Durban, the Zambian team is widely considered to be Morocco’s main rival for qualification.

Last Sunday, the Chipolopolo, as the team is nicknamed, claimed their seventh COSAFA tournament title, beating Lesotho 1-0 in the final in Durban.

After the tournament, Grant gave his thoughts on the 2026 World Cup qualification draw to the website Goal Diggers, noting that he was aware of the challenges facing him and his players in Group E following the World Cup draw on July 13.

“The draw is really difficult because I think Morocco are the best national team in Africa at the moment,” he argued. “That said, we’re going to do our best and we’re not going to give up. We will spare no effort to ensure qualification.”

The African qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 are set to kick off on November 12, 2023, with the final round of matches taking place on October 15, 2025.

On May 18, CAF announced a new format for the qualifiers of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Approved by the Executive Committee of CAF during its meeting in Algiers, the new format saw the 54 Member Associations divided into nine groups of six teams each during the World Cup draw.

The top team from each group after Match Day 10 will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Meanwhile, the top four runner-up teams from each of the nine groups will compete in a Continental play-off to choose a victor, who will then advance to a second and final play-off with six teams from the other confederations.

The best two of these six teams will qualify for the World Cup to make up the 48 teams — up from the traditional 32 — of the global tournament.