The Copper Queens were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in their first pre-Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) friendly on Sunday evening at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in Blida.

Mercy Chipasula gave Zambia the lead in the 48th minute, but Algeria equalised from the penalty spot in the 88th minute.

Following the match, Copper Queens head coach Nora Häuptle questioned several refereeing decisions, including the one that saw goalkeeper Mwila Mufunte sent off, reducing Zambia to 10 players in stoppage time.

“I don’t like to speak too much for the referees, but they killed the game a bit today. Some questionable decisions, we got a red card and so on, but in the end we conceded the 1-1 penalty,” she said.

Häuptle said her side struggled to settle in the opening stages but gradually took control of the contest.

“I think we did not have a good entrance into the game. The first half hour we were a little bit distracted; there were a lot of technical errors also. We needed to adjust a bit to this heat and humidity,” Hauptle said.

She said Zambia improved after the opening half-hour and looked the more dominant side.

“After half an hour we took control of the game. We did it a bit better in possession, and also in the break we adjusted a bit the activity of our centre defenders,” she said.

Häuptle added that the friendly served as an important assessment ahead of WAFCON, allowing her to evaluate several players, including younger members of the squad, before naming her final team.

The Copper Queens will face Algeria again on Wednesday, with Häuptle expecting a tougher contest as more foreign-based players join the squad.