Copper Princesses, Serengeti Girls at daggers drawn
By Cecilia Nayame
STRAIGHT from a 3-0 victory, the Copper Princesses will today aim to finish off the Serengeti Girls of Tanzania when the two teams meet in a 2025 FIFA World Cup, second round, second leg qualifier match at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
After an emphatic win in Dar-es-Salaam last Sunday, the princesses will continue pushing forward in search for more goals to finish the job on home soil.
Coach Carol Kanyemba knows what is at stake should the girls allow complacency to creep in, although she would like to see her players treating the game as new as it is supposed to be, forgetting about the past victory.
Kanyemba will be banking on captain Mercy Chapasula’s experience to lead other players into the game, knowing the fact that the princesses will be playing under pressure in front of the fans for the first time at their home ground.
“Our plan is to finish tomorrow’s [today] game on a positive note. We have no option but to win and wrap it in style against Tanzania. Of course, we are not understating them the fact that we don’t have what plans they have come with…but to be honest we are not expecting an easy game because we want [progressing to the next round of qualifiers] is what they are looking for as well.
“Coming to playing at home, we have no option but to win. We need to take advantage of our home ground and send our fans into celebratory mood,” Kanyemba said.
Chipasula said: “We have done our home work and what is remaining is to conclude and finish the work tomorrow. I am confident we will beat Tanzania and send them back home without a goal.”
Tanzania’s assistant coach Bertha Kazobe said : “We have worked on all the mistakes that were exposed during our first match…we are hoping for the best, and looking forward that we beat Zambia and progress to the next round.”
Skipper Janeth Matulanga: “We are here to change the results… definitely we are going to win and progress the next round of the qualifiers.”
Goalkeeper Bukata Kakumbi is expected to start in the goal with defenders Natasha Nkaka, Theresa Mubiana and Nana Malanda partnering to keep the Tanzanian’s at bay.
In midfield, Kanyemba will be relying on Hellen Banda and Taonga Tembo to push the ball forward.
Banda, and Tembo will need to move with the speed required to catch up with strikers Grace Phiri, Masela Sekeseke and Chipasula for more goals.
Should Tanzania lose today, they will be eliminated from the world cup qualifiers.
The winner over two legs will advance to the final round of qualifiers, where they will face either Benin or DR Congo for a spot at the global tournament set for October 17 to November 8, 2025 in Morocco.
