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      Ex-Chelsea manager Avram Grant confirmed as shock new Zambia national team boss after four-year break

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      AVRAM GRANT has accepted the “challenge” of becoming Zambia boss.The former Chelsea and West Ham manager has signed a two-year deal with the African nation, who are ranked 88th in Fifa’s rankings.
      Avram Grant has one of the most diverse CVs in football managementCredit: Getty
      He replaces caretaker Moses Sichone who took charge in September following the departure of former Croatia international Aljosa Asanovic.
      Grant said: “I was looking for the right challenge and that’s why I chose Zambia. 
      “I came here because of the challenge and I hope when I leave here I will look around and say we did a good job and made a good foundation for the future.
      “Zambia has the potential, we have set the targets of what we want to achieve.”
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      Grant led Ghana to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final before resigning after finishing fourth two years later.
      The Israeli boss was once a regular face in English football after being named as the shock successor to Jose Mourinho after the Portuguese boss was sacked at Chelsea in 2007.
      He would have been a Champions League winner had John Terry not slipped during a crucial penalty in the shootout against Manchester United in 2008.
      Grant would also take crisis club Portsmouth to an FA Cup Final in 2010, before taking charge of West Ham and leading them to relegation a year later.
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      The 67-year-old’s first senior job in management was all the way back in 1986, while his last job was in 2018 as interim boss of Indian football club NorthEast United FC, who were only founded in 2014.
      Elsewhere, Poland boss Czeslaw Michniewicz will leave at the end of the month following their last-16 World Cup exit.
      The Polish FA have decided not to extend the 52-year-old’s contract after 11 months in charge. 
      Poland drew 0-0 with Mexico, beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 and lost 2-0 to Argentina in their group games before being dumped out by France.
      Polish FA president Cezary Kulesza added: “Michniewicz took over the team at a difficult moment.
      “Despite these circumstances, he managed to earn qualification to the World Cup and also kept the team’s place in the Nations League elite.
      “He also led the national team to the first World Cup knockout stage in 36 years. For this, Michniewicz deserves thanks.”
      Poland appointed the ex-Legia Warsaw boss after parting ways in January with Portuguese Paulo Sousa, who asked to be relieved of his duties in December 2021. More

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      Valiant Morocco’s World Cup exit vs France is bittersweet but set to spark Premier League transfer scramble

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      FOR supporters of Morocco and neutrals, their thrilling performance in defeat was a bittersweet way to end the most incredible story of the World Cup.And for fans and managers of Premier League players of the past, present and future, there were also mixed feelings.
      Morocco’s World Cup dream came to a heartbreaking end at the hands of FranceCredit: Getty
      Azzedine Ounahi has put himself in the shop window with his displays in the tournamentCredit: REX
      Sofyan Amrabat will have also caught the eye of several Premier League clubsCredit: Getty
      Poor David Moyes. The West Ham boss’ hopes were raised and then dashed before the game even started.
      Nayef Aguerd has managed just four appearances for the Hammers since being signed for £30m in the summer because of an ankle injury.
      But he had been outstanding for Morocco before a hamstring problem ruled him out of the quarter-final.
      Last night he was named in the starting line-up, only to tweak it again in the warm-up, leaving Moyes to wonder when he will be ready to start his first Premier League game.
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      Wolves fans will have felt a pang of sympathy when their ex-defender Romain Saiss left the field after 20 minutes with his own hamstring issue.
      Southampton supporters watched Sofiane Boufal, one of a string of club-record signings to underwhelm, giving his all for a place in the World Cup Final.
      A penny, too, for the thoughts of Chelsea fans.
      The poor finish that Hakim Ziyech produced in the 17th minute will be all too familiar.
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      But the passion and energy he showed and has shown throughout this tournament were compelling.
      Yet three Blues managers have failed to bring the best out of him consistently and he may well leave in January.
      On the bright side, for Moroccan and English football, there is the prospect of others following in their team-mates’ footsteps.
      Leicester are among the clubs said to be chasing Azzedine Ounahi, 22, who once more looked like a high-quality, all-action midfielder.
      Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat, younger brother of former Watford winger Nordin, showed why Atletico Madrid, Spurs and Liverpool are looking at him.
      From goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to centre forward Youssa En-Nesyri, most of the Morocco players have at times shown the potential to join Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi in the category of superstar.
      Investment in football is paying off. In 2007, King Mohammed VI put £12m of his own money in an academy that bears his name.
      The Moroccan revolution has in part been down to a huge financial investment from King Mohammed VICredit: GETTY
      It kickstarted the revolution that has led to Morocco becoming the first Arab or African country to reach the last four of the World Cup.
      Last night may have felt like an ending, but it may be just the beginning. More