The Zambia Women’s National Team concluded their two international friendly games against South Korea with a 10-2 aggregate scoreline but coach Bruce Mwape is confident that he has enough quality players ahead of the World Cup.
The Copper Queens suffered a 5-2 defeat in the first match on Friday last week before losing 5-0 on Tuesday.
The results have elicited mixed reactions from Zambian fans, with some believing Mwape should be replaced immediately. Others, despite his long tenure with the team, have questioned his decision-making.
Mwape led the Copper Queens to their maiden Olympic qualification, the Africa Cup semifinal and now heading to the FIFA World Cup.
Reacting to yesterday’s result, he once again attributed the humiliating defeats to the absence of some key players.
Mwape is confident that Copper Queens have enough quality
When asked if he has enough quality players to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup, he said: “We do have players, some of them only because they are injured… But I am sure by the time we will be going to the World Cup, they will have recovered. When the injured players come back, it will make a difference, especially in defence.”
Mwape added that the team has picked lessons from the two matches and has promised to work on them.
“The lesson we have learned is that when it comes to defending it’s like we are not defending well. If we work on that one then we will not be able to expose our defense like it was happening.”
“I expected the girls to come up with a positive result, but unfortunately again we conceded. In the first half we were able to contain them upto I think 25 minutes……. But again we started making mistakes,” Mwape concluded.
The copper queens will shift focus to their next assignment as they face the Republic of Ireland in an international friendly match in June.
READ MORE: Zambia Women’s National Team Player Ratings Against South Korea
They will make their maiden appearance at the World Cup this year. The tournament is set to kick off on July 20, 2023, in Newzealand and Australia.
The Copper Queens were drawn in Group C with Costa Rica, Japan, and Spain and will kick off their campaign on July 22nd against Japan.
