Zambia Women’s National Team captain and star forward, Racheal Kundananji has declared that her team is fully focused and battle-ready ahead of their 2024 WAFCON quarter-final clash against the Super Falcons of Nigeria.
Speaking after securing qualification to the knockout stage, Kundananji explained that progressing from the group was a non-negotiable objective, even though the team fell short of finishing in first place.
“This means a lot, you know, when we came out we said three points or nothing because we are not dropping any points.”
“As a team we are so glad that we’re in the next round, we’re in the quarterfinal. We wanted the first place but like unfortunately we didn’t score more goals but like we don’t care which position we are now.”
“We’ll go back, watch our games in the group stage because we have days to the next match so like when we go at the pitch we need to work on our mistakes, reflect about everything and you know also we need to utilize chances in the next match because it’s a knockout stage, we are not giving out anything.”
“Our eyes are still on the same thing and we’ll never look behind, we’ll never look on the side. We’re just looking at that trophy.”
“We just want, you know, to do our best until the final because we are here for the trophy, that’s it.“
Tactical Reset Before WAFCON Quarterfinal Battle
Kundananji, who is one of Zambia’s biggest threats up front alongside Barbra Banda, revealed that the team will use the few days of rest before facing Nigeria to analyze their group-stage performances, correct their mistakes, and improve their finishing, which she believes will be key in the knockout rounds.
Zambia finished second in Group A with 7 points behind South Africa, following a 2-2 draw against host Morocco, a 3-2 win against Senegal, and a narrow 1-0 win over DR Congo in their final group match.
A Rematch of Continental Giants
Friday’s quarter-final tie will reignite a fierce WAFCON rivalry between Zambia and Nigeria. The Copper Queens memorably defeated the Super Falcons 1-0 in the third-place match of WAFCON 2022.
However, both teams come into the match with very different forms:
- Nigeria: 3 games, 7 points, 0 goals conceded
- Zambia: 3 games, 7 points, 4 goals conceded
Racheal Kundananji has however, insists that Zambia remains laser-focused on winning the title, and is not intimidated by reputation or statistics.
Zambia are seeking to reach their first-ever WAFCON final, while Nigeria are gunning for a record 12th title.
