Copper Princesses in South Africa tricky affair

Zambia Women’s Under-17 will this afternoon take on 2020 COSAFA Women’s Championship hosts South Africa in the second of the doubleheader match billed for 15:30hrs at the second edition of the tournament which kicks-off today with Comoros taking on Tanzania in the first match at 12:30hrs at the Oval Stadium.

Zambia and South Africa are expected to revive their rivalry at the Junior level when the two teams meet for the third time this year having met earlier in 2020 now 2021 India FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup Qualifier Match with Bantwana edging the Copper Princesses via a 3-2 aggregate scoreline to qualify to the next round where they are expected to take on Morocco, so this match will be interesting because there will be pride and bragging rights at stake with regards to who will walk away with a positive result at the Championship.

Coach Kaluba Kangwa will be missing a couple of key players who were instrumental at last year’s inaugural edition of the tournament which was held in Mauritius because of new COSAFA rules on the participating age but he will hope the likes of Melisa Mataba, Tisilile Lungu, and mesmerizing Cindy Banda can rise to the occasion and inspire the team to victory with much-needed goals upfront.

In the middle of the park, BUSA Queens duo of Esther ‘Gelo’ Banda and Shelly Masumo will likely be the key players in the midfield alongside Tionge Sambo who may make her debut appearance in the team with Bupe Banda being another option for Coach Kangwa.

Captain of the side Esther Siyamfuko is expected to partner with Martha Kitila Banda at the heart of defense while Comfort Selemani and Luty Kamanga could be deplored in the right and left-back roles respectively in making sure that Chitete Munsaka is properly covered in between the sticks.

However, coming up against Bantwana won’t be easy and Coach Simphiwe Dhlulu’s lasses will aim to continue their dominance over Zambia with the likes of Jessica Wade expected to come to the party in the midfield and also the defensive duo of Yolanda Nduli and Nkhuna Nkateko being some notable names in the Bantwana squad.

Others to watch out for are the lethal striking duo of Oyisa Marhasi and Kananelo Taiwo.

This match will be a tricky affair between two free-scoring sides who scored a combined 67 goals in between them in Mauritius with South Africa finding the back of the net 39 times and conceded 5 Goals while Zambia scored 28 and only conceded 3 times and both teams only lost a game each.

As a result of Corona Virus (Covid-19) some teams were unable to be part of the tournament and with only 5 teams confirming which means that it will be a round-robin business in Port Elizabeth with the top 2 teams fighting for Gold in the finals Amongst South Africa, Comoros, guests Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The final will be played on 14th November 2020 at Wolfson Stadium.

Zambia U-17 probable line up: Chitete Munsaka, Judith Soko, Martha Katila Phiri, Comfort Selemani, Esther Siamfuko, Beauty Matilda Zulu, Esther ‘Gelo’ Banda, Jackeline Nambeya, Mellisa Mutaba, Tisilile Lungu, Margaret Chulu.