FIFA Series: Haalubono blames Zambia defeat to fatigue, eyes Brazil win

Zambia women national team assistant coach Charles Haalubono says his team will be do better against Brazil following the arrival of all but one player summoned for the FIFA Series tournament.

Speaking during a post-match press conference after Zambia suffered a 4-0 loss to Canada, Haalubono said the late arrival of some key members of his squad greatly affected the team’s performance.

DEFEAT IN THE OPENING GAME OF OF THE FIFA SERIES!#WeAreCopperQueens, #Fazfootball, #FIFASeries2026 pic.twitter.com/KQMb8uw3Vm

— FAZ (@FAZFootball) April 12, 2026

The Copper Queens will play Brazil on Tuesday at the same venue.

‘There was sign of fatigue’

“First of all, we conceded the first two goals in the first half towards the end of the first half. That was a sign of, you know, fatigue coming in,” Haalubono said as quoted by FAZ Media.

“Because we had players coming in, some this morning, others came in yesterday. So, they haven’t rested so much.

“But we are happy with the resilience and the We expect another tough match just like the way it was with Canada. We tried by all means to prepare well tactically, which we managed to do with Canada. I know it was fatigue which came in towards the end of the first half and the final whistle.”

Haalubono said the window of preparation before the Brazil match will give his team enough time to rebound.

“Now we have all the players in except for Irene Lungu whom we are expecting tomorrow (Sunday). I think we are going to have a full house which will give us an upper hand. I know Brazil is a very strong team but we are here to compete,” he said.

“We will try to do our best and give them a good run. The most difficult part like I have said is that most of our players haven’t rested much, so we suffered in terms of recovery.”

FIFA Series a good experience

He paid tribute to some players that arrived 24 hours before the game and played a part in the match after being introduced in the second half.

Haalubono said the high-level games were a good preparatory ground for the WAFCON which will be played in July. The WAFCON will also serve as a qualification tournament for the 2027 FIFA World Cup to be hosted by Brazil.

“This is a very good experience for us because we are testing the best teams in the world. The levels are so high, you know, so it gives us a taste of what we expect in the future. We are going for WAFCON, which is a World Cup qualifier, so we start now, it’s good for us,” he said.

Zambia started the FIFA Series tournament on a losing note after being beaten by Canada at the Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba.