Copper Queens shaping up well says Mwamba
By Moses Mwanza | September 25, 2019
Zambia National Women’s Soccer Team Assistant Coach Beauty Mwamba says the team is shaping up well ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Qualifier third round first leg against Botswana slated for Next week at Lusaka’s Nkoloma Stadium.
Speaking in an interview with the ZamFoot Crew, Mwamba said despite missing the services of the central defensive pairing of Anita Mulenga and Agnes Musesa she’s hoping the new players called to camp will catch up with fitness before game day.
“The team is shaping up well though we have some concerns with regards to the defense more especially central defenders. Anita Mulenga and Agnes Musesa are not with us due to other commitments so we are trying to replace them. We are trying to help Emeldah Musonda, Milika Limwanya, Fikile khosa, and Grace Nanyinza to catch up in terms of fitness, they are coming up very well we only hope they will manage to catch up by the time we play the first leg, ” Mwamba said.
Having met at the recent COSAFA Women’s Championships these two sides will renew their rivalry and Coach Mwamba is looking forward for a positive result but she has predicted a tough game especially that they will be meeting a different crop of players to the one they faced at COSAFA which is the main team that booted out the much-fancied South Africa before this tie.
“It will be a tough one, Botswana is a good side having eliminated South Africa it means a lot and we know to say they have been preparing. The time that we were at cosafa most of their senior players were not with the team that we played they went to Slovakia for their preparations so they have been preparing for some time that’s why they are doing fine so we know to say it will be a tough encounter, of course, we want to overcome we need to get the result,” She said.
European based trio of Barbra Banda, Racheal Kundananji and Misozi Zulu are expected to join camp by 27th September 2019 to complete a full house.
The Senior Copper Queens will battle it out with the Mares of Botswana on 2nd October 2019 at Nkoloma Stadium before traveling to that country 4 days later for the return match to determine who progresses to the fourth round where they would meet the winner between Ghana and Kenya.