Zambia coach declares Wafcon semifinal clash with Banyana ‘final before final’

Zambia coach Bruce Mwape has described their Caf Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) semifinal against Banyana Banyana as a ‘final before the final’ with the team set to lock horns at the Mohammed V Stadium on Monday evening.

The two teams have faced each other several times before – both come from the Cosafa region. Mwape says that means his charges will have to step against Banyana.

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Zambia needed penalties to get to this stage of the tournament after beating Senegal 4-2 following a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time, while the South Africans edged Tunisia 1-0.

“This is a game where we need to put more effort because South Africa knows us better. We have played against them several times and we also know them. So, it will be like playing a final before the actual final because we are from the same region. As far as I am concerned, our team is ready for this semifinal, we want to get to the final,” said the Copper Queens mentor, adding that his players will have fresh legs for the Banyana game.

“I think talking about fitness we started preparing for this tournament a long time ago. Playing one 120 minutes is part of preparing for the next game. We had enough time to recover, the players have fully recovered.”

Reaching the last four of the competition meant a spot at the Fifa Women’s World Cup for the very first time for Zambia. Mwape admitted that there were celebrations after reaching that feat, but they had to cut them short in order to put their full focus on the semifinal.

“After qualifying for the semifinals, naturally we had to celebrate, because reaching the semifinals is an achievement one way or another. There were celebrations here and there, but of course with a limit. You can celebrate, but you cannot go on until the next game.”