Zambia women’s national football team assistant coach Charles Haalubono says the team is physically refreshed and tactically sharper ahead of their FIFA Series encounter with Brazil women’s national football team, as they seek a stronger showing following defeat to Canada women’s national soccer team.
Zambia opened their campaign with a heavy loss to Canada at Arena Pantanal in Cuiabá, but Haalubono insists the squad has responded positively in training and recovery sessions.
“So far so good. We had a plus one yesterday. We gave our players enough time to recover. Our medical team worked on them so well,” he said.
“Those who didn’t have actual playing time, we worked with them on the pitch… we are yet to do another session in the evening.”
The Copper Queens are using the FIFA Series as part of their build-up to the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, where performance will be key not only for continental success but also for qualification to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Despite the opening setback, Haalubono remains confident his players will rise to the challenge against one of the world’s top-ranked sides.
“Such games like we have now, we expect a good match, good response from our players. They are eager for this kind of competition,” he said.
“I believe in the girls to say they are going to play good football and show what we have.”
Defensive adjustments a key focus
Zambia’s technical bench has placed particular emphasis on addressing defensive frailties exposed in the defeat to Canada.
“We have worked on a lot of things. We continue correcting those mistakes which we saw, more specially defensive-wise,” Haalubono explained.
“We couldn’t close the wings, so we are working on it and we are showing clips to our players so that they can easily see and understand.”
Fatigue was also highlighted as a decisive factor in the previous match, with the coaching staff confident that improved recovery will yield a more competitive performance.
“We saw what contributed to our 4-0 loss… the biggest challenge in that game was mostly fatigue. This time our players have recovered. I think they will respond… for 90 minutes without suffering huge fatigue.”
Squad depth and long-term goals
Haalubono emphasised the importance of utilising the full squad, noting that the tournament offers a valuable opportunity to test combinations against elite opposition.
“We need everyone because we know we are supposed to prepare the team, including the substitutes. They should be ready to play and we are going to introduce all the players necessary.”
Facing top-tier nations, he added, provides critical lessons for Zambia’s long-term ambitions.
“This is a very good platform for us because of the level of play. We are playing against highly ranked footballing countries. We are learning a lot… so that we can achieve our desired goal at the WAFCON.”
Call for continued fan support
The assistant coach also called on supporters to remain behind the team, even in difficult moments.
“The fans, we are always eager for that support. Sometimes even in our losses, we expect encouragement, positive criticism… it will help us to grow.”
Zambia will face Brazil at Arena Pantanal on Tuesday evening (21:00 local time, 03:00 Zambian time), as they look to deliver a response and continue fine-tuning ahead of their continental campaign.
