Zambia physically and mentally ready for Nigeria WAFCON test – Häuptle

Zambia women’s national team head coach Nora Häuptle has revealed their readiness to face Nigeria in the quarterfinals of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Morocco on Friday.

Both sides head into the knockout stage unbeaten, having each collected seven points from two wins and a draw in their respective groups. The meeting between Zambia and Nigeria has all the ingredients of a classic, with Häuptle saying the contest “already feels like a final.”

“We had a very good recovery since the group stage. We have been happy to have this amount of time to physically recover, both mental recovery also. Basically, we had a very good evolution over the group stage in our performance. So I think my team is ready in the tournament for the knockout stages,” Häuptle told FAZ Media ahead of the game.

“Now we are working on our game plan. We already had a good session here in Casablanca. We moved the hotel from Rabat to here yesterday (on Wednesday) and arrived very well. We feel good here in Casablanca and are fully excited and prepared for the clash tomorrow (Friday) on the stage.”

Zambia and Nigeria both finished second and first in their respective groups with seven points each, and the Friday clash is one of the most anticipated ties of the tournament.

“We are excited to enter the knockout stage. It feels a bit like the final already, no? I think for all of us it will be a very entertaining game. Of course, we are here to hunt.

“We respect that Nigeria is the record-time winner of this tournament. I think they have the role of the favourite in this game. But I can assure you that my team is very hungry. We are here to hunt.”

Zambia will go into the last eight match with 20 players, with Grace Chanda returning from suspension, but Xiomara Mapepa has been excused from the squad on medical grounds.