IN a quest to prepare adequately for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the Copper Queens will today face Slovenia in their second match of the Turkish Women’s Cup at the Miracle Sports Complex in Alanya.
On Wednesday, the Bruce Mwape-drilled side defeated North Macedonia in their first fixture at the tournament which has attracted over 10 World Cup-bound teams.
Madrid CFF striker Grace Chanda scored a last-minute winner to give Zambia a memorable 1-0 win over North Macedonia.
However despite having beaten Macedonia, the Copper Queens striking force struggled and missed a number of chances before scoring with the last kick of the game in injury time.
Going into today’s game, Mwape will hope to see some improvement against Slovenia who beat Uzbekistan 2-1 in their first match at the tournament.
“The areas of concern is just the penetration. The buildup was good in the game against Macedonia. The midfield, we played well it is just on the finishing we need to work on that,” Mwape said.
“The two games we are remaining with, we just need to improve on finishing that will be our main emphasis because against Macedonia we could have won by a bigger margin,” he said.
Having missed the game against Macedonia, Copper Queens Captain Barbra Banda is ready and fit to face Slovenia.
Banda will link up with striker Rachel Kundananji, vice-captain Grace Chanda, Rachel Nachula, Hellen Mubanga and Hellen Chanda who provided the assist in the goal against Macedonia.
And Copper Queens midfielder, Ireen Lungu said the Copper Queens will have to take each and every game seriously as they use the Turkish Cup to prepare for the World Cup.
“I know the opponents in the next game (Slovenia) are going to be tough, they know how to play the game so we will take it seriously,” Lungu said.
After playing Slovenia today, The Copper Queens will conclude their Turkish tour with a meeting with Uzbekistan on February 21.
