By MICHAEL MIYOBA
ZAMBIA national women’s team quest to win the COSAFA women’s championship continues today when they face Tanzania in a semifinal fixture at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The Bruce Mwape-led Copper Queens are unbeaten having beaten eSwatini, Namibia and Uganda to reach the knock out stage.
Zambia will need nothing but a win to reach the finals where they will have a chance to win the championship for the first time after missing out on the 2019 edition following a 1-0 final defeat to South Africa.
For Copper Queens assistant coach, Flo Mwila, fighting hard is what her girls need to do to make it to the finals.
“We know we are going to face Tanzania who are a stronger side and they are going to be tough on us but we are going to stick to our plan to carry the day,” Mwila said.
The match will kick-off at 12:00 hours at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and will be live on pay TV.
Meanwhile, Zambia Under-20 women’s national team coach Charles Haluboono says his team will not underrate Malawi in the return leg on Saturday despite carrying a 6-0 cushion from the first leg of the Costa Rica 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
In an interview Haluboono said he was happy with the progress made by the team as they prepare to face Malawi.
Haluboono said Malawi is a strong side that must be treated with respect for Zambia to qualify to the next round.
“We have prepared well. I think all the trainings we did, the players responded well. We are happy with the team,” Haluboono told FAZ media.
“We are not underrating Malawi; they are a good team. They played well despite conceding those goals. We cannot make the mistake of underrating them.”
The winner over Zambia and Malawi will march on to the next round to meet Ghana or Uganda.
