Copper Queens head coach Nora Häuptle spoke candidly during a post-match press conference following her side’s 5-0 defeat to Nigeria in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Casablanca on Friday.
“Very clear loss for us. Congratulations to Nigeria for the well-deserved victory. I think today we need to accept that Nigeria was better than us,” a sad Häuptle told a press conference. “Today none of us has been on top. I think it was a collective loss. Today none of our players has been top, neither me as coach.”
Häuptle highlighted the difference in player exposure and development between the two sides, pointing to Nigeria’s depth and international experience. She said Zambia lacks enough talent like Nigeria.
“We just need to mention also that in the Nigerian squad, you see almost everyone plays abroad, either in France or America—they have much more players abroad. Nigeria is a country I think with 200 million people and Zambia with just 20 million. We don’t have so much talent,” she bemoaned.
“We’ve got at the moment nine or ten players abroad, and the rest play in the domestic league. We have also seen that, physically, we have seen that they are not on the same level. We need to accept. We need to go back and see how our players can go abroad early.”
Before the match, the Swiss trainer said her team was hungry to hunt, a statement which Nigeria’s Rasheedat Ajibade said motivated the Super Falcons to beat them. However, when asked about it, she remained upbeat despite the heavy loss.
“We mentioned that we gonna hunt. We made it clear that Nigeria is a several-time winner of this tournament, but us we are on the growth [and path to] good development. We were here to hunt, and we will also hunt in the next tournament, so we are hungry. We will continue to develop. We don’t care much what others say,” she said.
While Nigeria will face the winner of the match between South Africa and Senegal in the semifinal as they continue their campaign for a record-extending tenth WAFCON title, Zambia will shift focus to preparations for the 2026 edition.
The Copper Queens will face Namibia in a home-and-away qualifier this October for a place at the 2026 WAFCON, which also doubles as a qualifier for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Meanwhile, Morocco secured a spot in the semifinals after defeating Mali 3-1. They will face the winner of the Algeria vs Ghana clash as they aim to reach the final for a second consecutive time, following their loss to South Africa in 2022.
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