The Copper Queens will face Namibia in the final round of qualifiers for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
This follows Namibia’s narrow 1-0 win over Eswatini in the second leg played in South Africa on Wednesday afternoon to advance to the second and final round with a 4-0 aggregate scoreline.
The 2022 WAFCON bronze medalists were on bye for the first round as they are one of the six top ranked teams on the continent.
The Brave Gladiators are one hurdle away from booking qualification for next year’s CAF African Women’s Cup of Nations, to be held in Morocco and it’s a team that denied them a chance to make it to the 2022 showpiece, Zambia.
The Namibians, under the captaincy of Lovisa Mulunga, managed to secure a 4-0 aggregate victory over Eswatini in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Juliana Blou scored the only goal, 31 minutes into the match, to extend Namibia’s aggregate.
In the first encounter played in Eswatini last weekend, Namibia secured a 3-0 win, following strikes by Fiola Vliete, Ivone Kooper and Hilma Kanyama.
The Gladiators will meet Zambia in the final round of the qualification – home and away, in October this year.
Morocco will host the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) for the third time in a row in March 2026. Twelve teams will contest the tournament, with Morocco the only automatically qualified team as the host nation.
