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Copper Queens of Zambia star Rachael Kundananji has said today’s (Saturday) clash with Nigeria’s Super Falcons will determine the fate of both teams in this year’s Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON)in Morocco.
Contrasting Starts For Super Falcons And Zambia
Defending champions, Super Falcons, did not have the best of starts in the competition after suffering a shock 3-2 loss to debutants Malawi in Group C.
However, Zambia had a perfect start following a dominant 6-0 win against Egypt.
Now, the two teams will head into their second group clash with a lot at stake, and Kundananji admitted a lot is riding on the game.
“The moral is high, the team is ready,” she said in Friday’s press conference. “We understand it’s not an easy task, it’s the game that will determine both team’s fate, it’s the game that will make everything easy or tough. It won’t be an easy game and we are just looking forward to doing our best.”
Also Read: WAFCON 2026: Malawi Loss Behind Us, Focus Now On Zambia — Nnadozie
‘We Don’t Play For A Draw’ Zambia Coach Warns Super Falcons
Speaking also at the presser, Zambia head coach Nora Häuptle said her team will not go into the contest to play for a draw.
“We never play for a draw, it’s not in our nature, we always chase for the lead in games. In the last edition we lost against Nigeria in the Quarterfinals, we learnt a lot in the game in our game against Egypt we were flexible so we can surprise Nigeria.”
The Swiss coach stated there is tremendous growth in her team, thanks to the series of top friendly matches they featured in as part of their preparations for the WAFCON.
She added:”We have grown as a team, this year we played in the FIFA series where we faced top 20 oppositions in the world to learn about high level games and the summary of those learnings makes us stronger and make us grow so I have a lot of confidence in my team.”
Head-To-Head
This would be the fifth meeting between the Super Falcons and Zambia at the WAFCON, with the 10 times champions winning three and losing one.
The first meeting was in the group stage at the 2014 tournament in Namibia which the Super Falcons won 6-0. In another group stage fixture in 2018 in Ghana the Super Falcons won 4-0.
Zambia’s first and only win against the Super Falcons came in the third-place match at the 2022 edition in Morocco which they recorded a 1-0 victory.
The Super Falcons avenged the defeat by bashing Zambia 5-0 in the quarterfinals of the 2024 tournament also in Morocco and went on to be crowned champions.
By James Agberebi
