As Nigeria’s Super Falcons prepare to face Zambia’s Copper Queens in a quarterfinal clash at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), key player and defender, Ashley Plumptre have spoken boldly about the team’s readiness, unity, and hunger to keep a clean sheet record intact.
The highly anticipated tie will see two of the continent’s top sides square off, both boasting attacking firepower and defensive discipline.
Nigeria have yet to concede a goal in the competition, a feat they’re determined to maintain, according to Al-Ittihad Ladies defender, Plumptre.
“We All Defend As One” — Ashleigh Plumptre Spoke on Team Unity
Plumptre, one of the defensive lynchpins of the Super Falcons since the beginning of the WAFCON tournamnet, exuded confidence during the team’s pre-match media session.
She highlighted Nigeria’s collective approach as the secret behind their impenetrable defensive wall.
“We were really proud to go through the group stage and not concede as much as we have.”
“Obviously, people know us to have such good attacking threat both starting and in the subs coming in as well, but we do take pride holistically as a whole team to defend well, protect our goal well,” said Plumptre.
“And I think you can tell in our games that we all defend as one and we try to attack as one, it’s not like we’re relying on one sole goal scorer or anything like that.”
“I think we have threats that can come from numerous places so I think that puts us in a good position against a team like this.”
Zambia Are “More Than Two Players” — Ashleigh Plumptre Warns Against Complacency
While acknowledging the attacking quality of the Zambian side, particularly the likes of Barbara Banda and Racheal Kundananji, Plumptre affirmed that the Super Falcons will not focus on individuals, but rather prepare to nullify the Copper Queens as a unit.
“We know that Zambia have really good attacking threats and we respect that. We obviously prepare well for that, but we don’t prepare for just two players, we prepare for Zambia as a whole team,” she explained.
“Because we know that if you get consumed on two players, they can have threats that come from different aspects, which is, I think, the same for us as well.”
All Eyes on Casablanca Tonight
The Falcons head into tonight’s clash in Casablanca brimming with belief. Under head coach Justin Madugu, Nigeria topped their group with maximum points and have scored four goals without reply so far, all thanks to a solid defense.
Zambia, meanwhile, progressed as Group A runners-up behind host country, Morocco. Led by Banda, the Copper Queens remain one of the most dangerous sides left in the tournament and are seeking their first WAFCON semifinal appearance.
Match Preview Summary:
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Fixture: Nigeria vs Zambia
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Tournament: WAFCON 2024 Quarterfinal
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Venue: Larbi Zaouli Stadium, Casablanca
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Kickoff Time: 5:00 p.m. WAT
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Nigeria’s WAFCON Record So Far: P3 W3 D0 L0 | Goals For: 7 | Goals Against: 0
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Zambia’s Key Player to Watch: Barbara Banda
