Former Zambia international Hichani Himonde believes teams that featured at the 2026 FIFA World Cup will carry a significant advantage into the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers due to the experience gained at football’s biggest tournament.
Ten African nations represented the continent at the expanded FIFA World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Morocco reached the quarterfinals, Egypt advanced to the Round of 16, while eight other African teams progressed to the Round of 32.
Speaking to BolaNews, Himonde said the exposure to elite international competition has raised the standard of those nations, giving them an edge over teams that did not participate.
“The teams that went to the World Cup have played against some of the best players and strongest nations in football. That kind of experience improves their competitiveness and gives them confidence going into the AFCON qualifiers,” Himonde said.
He pointed to Morocco’s performances against world-class opposition as an example of how World Cup experience can elevate a team’s level.
“If you look at countries like Morocco, they were able to compete against a team with a lot of talent such as Brazil. Such performances show that Morocco has elevated its game beyond the African level,” he added.
The former defender singled out Algeria as Zambia’s biggest challenge in the qualifying campaign, warning that the Desert Foxes will arrive battle-tested after their World Cup participation.
“Algeria has been playing competitive football at the World Cup, while Zambia has not played any competitive match since the friendly against Argentina. The question is how fit and prepared, both physically and mentally, Zambia will be when the qualifiers begin,” Himonde said.
Despite acknowledging the challenge, Himonde believes the long-standing rivalry between Zambia and Algeria will produce closely contested encounters.
“It will be a difficult task for Zambia, but there is history between the two countries. That rivalry always brings out competitive matches, so I expect two tough games,” he said.
Zambia has been drawn alongside Algeria and Togo in the 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign, with the Chipolopolo aiming to secure a place at the continental finals.
