ZESCO Ndola Girls head coach Florence Mwila says her side is prepared to face any opponent in the semifinals of the CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA Qualifiers after completing the group stage with a perfect nine points.
The Zambian champions secured top spot in Group A on Monday after defeating hosts and defending champions Gaborone United 2-0 in their final group match.
With Group B still to be decided, Mamelodi Sundowns, Costa do Sol and Silver Strikers all remain in contention for the two semi-final places, but Mwila says ZESCO have no preference over who they face.
“There’s no preferring any team. We play any team that comes. We are prepared,” Mwila said in her post-match interview.
“This is a tournament. You meet any opponent, so you just have to be prepared for the next opponent that you will face. We can’t say we want to play against this team.”
ZESCO entered the final group match knowing the significance of the encounter, particularly given Gaborone United’s status as both hosts and defending champions.
Passing football helping Zesco-Mwila.
Mwila highlighted the improved combination play and passing displayed by her players as some of the positives from the victory.
“Today we were playing split passes, combination plays. Those are the things that we would have loved to see in the previous games that we played,” Mwila said.
“I think we did very well. The game was so tactical. It was a high-intensity match and kudos to the girls. They really accounted for themselves very well.”
The nine-point haul means ZESCO Ndola Girls finish the group stage unbeaten and will now have to wait for the outcome of Group B to discover their semifinal opponents.
The three teams still battling for the top two positions include two-time COSAFA champions Mamelodi Sundowns, Mozambique’s Costa do Sol and Malawi debutants Silver Strikers.
With all three still having a mathematical chance of finishing either first or second, ZESCO could face any one of the trio in the last four.
However, Mwila insists her team’s approach will remain unchanged regardless of the opponent.
