Zambia’s Copper Queens meet Ghana’s Black Queens in the second leg of the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers tomorrow, following a 1-0 victory in Accra last Friday thanks to a Racheal Kundananji goal.
The Copper Queens are aiming to qualify for the Olympics for the second time in a row, having previously represented Africa at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Bruce Mwape, the Copper Queens’ head coach, voiced optimism ahead of the match on Tuesday that his team has what it takes to return to the Olympics.
“We are ready to face any team,” he told reporters in Ndola. “I think it’s important for Zambia to qualify for the second time. We did well the first time we went there but this time around, if we qualify, our target will be to go for gold or at least come back with a medal.”
Nora Hauptle on plan for Copper Queens
While Mwape is already setting goals for his squad at the Paris Olympics, Ghana’s head coach, Nora Hauptle, has promised to make the lives of Zambian players difficult tomorrow because she believes they can turn the tables.
“We are very confident because our performance, the stats, and everything else were on our side in the home game, so we should have gotten a better result,”she said.
Hauptle is comforted by her side’s dominance in the second half of the first leg and is confident they can win in Ndola as she looks to qualify the Black Queens for the Olympics for the first time in their history.
“We are very hungry [for success]; we have never been to the Olympics with the women’s side, so this is in our wish and our mission is the World Cup. It’s a big step we want to achieve and I can tell you we will ensure that tomorrow we will put all out and make the lives of the Zambian players as difficult as possible.”
The winner of the tie between Zambia and Ghana will face either Morocco or Tunisia in the final round of the qualifiers.
Morocco leads Tunisia 2-1 on aggregate following their victory in the first match. The two will also face off in the second leg tomorrow in Morocco.
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