Zambia U-17 Women’s National Team head coach Carol Kanyemba said the team’s major aim will be to win their home game when they host Morocco in the 2024 Dominican Republic FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers on 8th June 2024.
Zambia overcame Uganda 2-0 and lost the away fixture 1-0 but advanced with a 2-1 aggregate win to secure a place in the final round of the qualifiers.
Morocco on the other hand defeated Algeria 8-0 on aggregate following 4-0 victories over two legs.
“We have got 26 players in camp and so far so good. We are pushing, and the girls are pushing,” Kanyemba told FAZ media. “The fitness levels are back to where we were when we played against Uganda, we are just working on the tactical part now.
“Competition in camp is very high and the girls are very eager. They really want this so much and they are pushing a lot. You can tell from the way they are training that they want it and are going to fight for it as much as possible.”
“Our away record hasn’t been good,” – Kanyemba
Kanyemba also admitted that her team has been underperforming in away matches after losing their last two games in Uganda and Tanzania.
“We know our record away hasn’t been good, but I just thank God we have been able to win games at home and that’s what we are going to work on as much as possible.
“Playing the second leg away is not easy because your opponents will do everything to come out stronger than they did, they will be able to learn your tactics and weaknesses so they come in with full force as compared to the first leg.
“So as we play the first leg at home we want to try and burry the game here and get maximum points. Our greatest aim is not to allow them to score us at home and that has really helped us in the two games that we have played,” concluded Kanyemba.
The winner between Zambia and Morocco will qualify for the Dominican Republic FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals which will kick off from October 16, 2024, to November 3, 2024.