Namibia women’s national team head coach Lucky Kakuva says his team is determined to prove a point against Zambia when they meet in the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifiers today in Johannesburg.
The Brave Gladiators will be seeking revenge against the Copper Queens, who denied them qualification for the 2022 WAFCON, and against Nora Hauptle — now Zambia’s head coach — who also ended their 2023 qualification hopes while in charge of Ghana.
Namibia’s head coach, Lucky Kakuva, expressed confidence in his team’s readiness.
“Our objective is to go up. It’s our home game, then to defeat the Zambians and make sure we have the upper hand before we play them away,” he told NBC Sports in an interview.
“Our preparations went on very well. I am confident about the players. Then in terms of our game plan, the philosophy that we adopted is to rise to the occasion and do the work. Our objective is to win this match.”
The goal is to beat Zambia- Kakuva
Kakuva, who recently took over the Namibian women’s team believes he has assembled a strong and balanced squad.
“We have selected a balanced team; most of the players have been part of the team. From the perspective of the coach, it’s continuity. The girls cannot wait for this match; they are eager, and they are determined to prove a point against Zambia,” he added.
“I think in the previous WAFCON (2022) we could not qualify as a result of the away goal we conceded against Zambia, but this time around we have worked out a very clear game plan, and the goal is to beat Zambia,” noted the coach.
The return fixture will be played on October 28 at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, with the aggregate winner booking a place at the 2026 WAFCON tournament to be hosted in Morocco.
Next year’s WAFCON will also serve as the qualifier for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
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