Zambia’s Copper Queens began their COSAFA Women’s Championship title defence with an emphatic 3-0 win over Botswana to go top of Group B.
The Copper Queens opened the scoring through Regina Chanda in the 16th minute before Susan Banda doubled the lead with a thunderbolt from outside the 18-yard box. Captain for the day, Kabange Mupopo, extended the advantage in the 71st minute to put the match beyond the reach of the Botswana side, who struggled to create meaningful chances.
“We planned to say in this first game, we get maximum points so that we are in control of the group, and it has worked to our advantage, and we have managed to win. Secondly, the team has performed well; we are happy with the result and the play,” Haalubono said after the match.
Asked about his team’s main target in the tournament, Haalubono said, “We are hoping to achieve one thing, making sure we improve our level of play, and also, God willing, we defend the cup, but we are using this as preparation for WAFCON, which is also the World Cup qualifier.”
Zambia now leads Group B with three points, ahead of second-placed Zimbabwe, who also have three points but an inferior goal difference. The two will face off on Sunday in their second group stage match.
Meanwhile, Botswana coach Gaoletlhoo Nkutlwisang also reacted after the match, saying, “When we came here, we knew very well that Zambia has been training very hard because they are preparing for WAFCON. Our structure was to deny them the spaces behind.”
She added, “I think, all in all, I will just say the girls did well. We kept our structure. The way we played is how we planned. I think, all in all, I will just say the girls did well.
“Looking at the fact that they only trained for one hour before playing Zambia, I think the girls did well,” Nkutlwisang claimed.
Botswana are bottom of the group, while Eswatini sit third with no points following their 2-0 defeat to Zimbabwe. They will also face off on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Angola leads Group A with three points after beating Lesotho 3-1, while South Africa, who defeated Malawi 2-0 in their opener on Wednesday, are second. Lesotho and Malawi sit third and fourth, respectively, with no points.
The competition continues today in Group C, with Mozambique facing Namibia in their opening match later this afternoon.
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