Zambia’s Häuptle welcomes break ahead of Nigeria WAFCON test

Zambia women’s national team coach Nora Häuptle has welcomed the five-day break before facing Nigeria in the quarterfinals of the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) on Friday in Casablanca.

Zambia reached the last eight of the tournament after finishing second in Group A with seven points while Nigeria, who are the nine-time winners of the WAFCON, finished top in Group B with seven points.

Their last eight clash will be played on Friday, meaning they will have a five-day rest before they face the record champions. The Swiss coach says they will use the opportunity to recover and refresh ahead of the Nigeria test.

“We are in a comfortable position with five days of rest days now. It’s a chance to recover, refresh and observe closely. Whoever we face, we will be ready. If you want to reach the final and win this tournament, you need to beat everyone. So we will take whoever comes,” said Häuptle.

On the team’s performance during their final group game against DR Congo which they won 1-0, she said: “I think we had a very stable and mature performance today. We adjusted some details in our block and stayed very valla, which means compact.

“Out of this structure, we scored early, and I think we could have added more before the break, we never lost control.”

The last time Nigeria and Zambia faced off in the WAFCON was at the 2022 edition, where the Copper Queens claimed a 1-0 victory in the bronze medal playoff.