The Zambia Women’s national team will this afternoon take on Malawi in the first leg of the first round of the Morocco 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations qualification.
The Copper Queens’ are fully prepared and confident that they will carry the day. Goalkeeper Hazel Nali told the ZamFoot Crew in an interview that the team is ready and the morale is high.
“We are fully prepared, we have been working hard and we are positive we will carry the day,” she said.
With several encounters between the two teams, the Copper Queens are aware of what to expect hence not underrating the Scorchers.
The Queens are looking forward to qualifying to both the AWCON and the World cup and the girls believe they will make it.
“Malawi is not a small team and we just have to take every game seriously, every team we meet is big, and it’s up to us to focus,” she said.
“We have been doing so well and we are improving every day, we have been to other major tournaments, and qualifying for the Africa women’s Cup and World Cup, will be a plus for us,” she added.
Defender Margaret Belemu believes Malawi has improved in the recent past and should be taken very seriously.
Belemu went on to say the target for the Queens is to qualify to Morocco where they also want to go and qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“We are expecting a very tough game, because our opponents have improved, and as a team that just played in the Olympics, people are expecting a lot from us, so we are going to give them a tough game too,” she said.
“We have never won the Africa Cup, and so the focus is for us to qualify and win the title, but the main target is for us to qualify for the World Cup.”
Meanwhile, striker Ochumba Oseke Lubanji reiterated that Malawi isn’t a team to be underrated.
“We have seen how well they play, it’s not a small team and I must say it’s one team that we shouldn’t underrate, but even so, we must win the game,” she said.
“For every chance that we get, we have to score, even if it’s one goal because that will make a difference,” she added.
The Copper Queens will be away at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe this afternoon in a 15:00hours kick-off before hosting the Scorchers in the return leg on 26 October at Nkoloma stadium.
