Zambia’s Copper Queens have been eliminated from the 2026 COSAFA Championship after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Namibia in the semifinals.
The Copper Queens, guided by assistant coach Charles Haalubono, controlled large spells of the match but struggled to carve out clear-cut opportunities as the first half ended goalless.
After the break, Namibia appeared more threatening on the counterattack despite sustained pressure from the Zambians.
With three minutes added on, Namibia launched another swift counterattack initiated by Zenatha Coleman, who outpaced the Zambian defence before cutting into the box and setting up Juliana Blou to tap in from close range, beating goalkeeper Hazel Nali.
“Not the result we wanted; it’s not a good result. I think we tried to play our game, but it didn’t work out for us because Namibia was so defensive and we didn’t create enough scoring opportunities prior,” Haalubono said after the match.
Haalubono also pointed to defensive lapses, stating that, “I think our marking on one-on-one was not all that good. Our defender was easily beaten by [Zenatha] Coleman, and she managed to bring in a cross, which unfortunately first landed on the Namibia player [leading to the goal].”
Zambia will now face the loser of the encounter between South Africa and Zimbabwe in the third-place playoff.
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