COPPER QUEENS NEED PREPS
…WAfCON games will determine if we shall qualify for the World Cup, says Barbra
By George Zulu
COPPER QUEENS skipper Barbra Banda says the Zambia Women’s national soccer team needs adequate preparation to qualify for the World Cup.
Addressing the FAZ media team after a 1-all draw against the Republic of South Korea in Brazil during the just-ended FIFA Series, Banda said for the Copper Queens to qualify for the World Cup, it will take a lot of preparation towards building a strong team.
Banda said qualifying for the World Cup was everyone’s dream, but that should come with a good performance at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAfCON) in July.
“For us to come back to the World Cup, it will take a lot because we need to build a team very well, we need to prepare adequately going into the WAfCON because those are the games that will determine if we shall qualify to the World Cup,” she said.
She said there was nothing more than adequate preparation if the team was to play at the World Cup.
“We know that it will not be easy, so we need to prepare adequately. We need to be on top of the game and win the games, we need to score goals, we need to defend, and we need to hold the ball,” she said.
Banda said the team should, at all costs, utilize all the little opportunities that come through at any given time with proper coordination.
She said the team can only succeed when a spirit of togetherness is shown.
“We have a team; all it needs is preparation. We need an early camp, we need proper team organisation, we have material, we have great players who can make things happen, all we need, as I have said already, is preparation. We can do it too,” she said.
And Banda said the 1-all result against South Korea was not the result the team wanted.
She said the team wanted a straight win to compensate for the heavy loss at the hands of Canada and Brazil.
“It was not the result we wanted, but all in all, I think we have done well in the last game. I remember when we played the same team some time back, we conceded many, many goals, but now it was a good game,” she said.
Banda said the Copper Queens needed to build on concentration and resilience, adding that the quality of the games was good for Zambia and the team as a whole.
“These are high-profile games and these are the teams we are supposed to learn from. I have learnt more from each and every game we have played here, at a personal level I have learnt lessons from the first game we played against Canada, Brazil and South Korea and I think we should keep the same momentum in the games we shall have,” she said.
