Zambia head coach Avram Grant has delivered his assessment after the Chipolopolo crushed out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the group stages.

The Chipolopolo needed a draw against the Atlas Lions in their final Group F game at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San Pedro to advance to the Round of 16, but they suffered a 1-0 defeat to exit the tournament.

“I think Zambia has made a lot of progress. I am very proud of the boys and everybody in Zambia can be proud of them. They gave everything; they were fighting and showed a lot of good football but unfortunately, we needed to put the ball in the net,” said Grant.

On losing to Morocco Grant said: “I am very proud of the players. They showed a lot of character in the first two games and today. In the second half, we dominated the game and we deserved a goal.

“It’s not easy to play against them [Morocco]. I think we did well to stop them. We knew that we needed to close them down. We made some good attacks. I think it’s pretty to do it against such a good team, and they scored from a mistake.”