Princesses battle ready for Benin-Phiri

Princesses battle ready for Benin-Phiri

By Cecilia Nayame

ZAMBIA Under-17 women’s national soccer team assistant coach Naomi Phiri says the squad is in high spirits ahead of the World Cup final round, return leg qualifier match against Benin this Saturday.

The Junior Copper Princess will face Benin in a must-win encounter against the West Africans at Stade de Kegue in Lome, Togo.

Speaking in an interview from Lome yesterday, Phiri said the team was in good shape and looking forward to the return leg.

She said all players had responded positively in training after a recovery session on Tuesday.

“We arrived safely here in Lome. Players are in good shape even after the recovery session that we had immediately after our arrival. They are all looking good and ready for the match,” Phiri said.

She said the team’s focus was to score more goals against Benin.

Phiri urged the players to remain focused and to adhere to the game plan.

“Our focus is to score and not only scoring one goal but as many goals as we can. We lost quiet a number of chances back home and we don’t want to repeat that mistake again.

“We want to make sure that every chance we have, we utilise it,” she said.

She has declared the team ready for the match.

“The girls are ready. We are assuring fans that the team will qualify for the World Cup, the many reason why we are here today,” she added.

Defender Lweendo Hanongo said despite the hot weather in Lome, the team would not be distracted from winning the match.

“Yes, the weather is not friendly, it’s hot. But that’s not our worry, for now we are focusing on winning the game,” she said.

Hanongo said the team was focused on qualifying for the global soccer showpiece.

“We are looking forward to qualifying to the World Cup. Otherwise, we are more than ready for Benin,” she added.

Midfielder Jessica Johnson assured fans of a positive result against Benin.

“Morale is very high in camp. We are looking forward to the match day…it will be good if we can qualify for a second World Cup Championship,” she said.

Zambia goes into the last round of the qualifiers with a 2-1 aggregate advantage over Benin after captain Mercy Chipasula’s brace in the first leg played at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium last Saturday.

Should the princesses beat Benin, they will make a second appearance at the World Cup set for Morocco later this year.