Zambia: Zambia Women’s National Team captain Barbra Banda wants the team to have a good start for the two-series friendly with the Atlas Lionesses of Morocco.
The Copper Queens will square off with the Atlas Lionesses at the Père Jégo Stadium in Casablanca this evening before facing them again in the second fixture billed for Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat on 22 September 2023.
Kick-off will be at 20h00CAT, and the match will be live on TopStar, GOtv and SuperSport.
Banda believes the two games are very important for the team, and they need to start with a win as they shape up for the big assignments coming ahead of them.
“So far so good. The team morale is very high, we had a recovery session and a full training session; both went well, and we are looking forward to today’s game. Everyone is in shape,” Banda says.
“It’s very important to start on a good note. These games are preparations for the big assignments coming ahead of us. We have to win the game; we have a very big task ahead of us with the (Paris) Olympics qualifiers and WAFCON qualifiers.”
Morocco were one of the three African teams that reached the round of 16 at the 2023 Women’s World Cup alongside Nigeria and South Africa. The Zambian forward is aware of Morocco’s threat and believes the team has to up its game to beat the 2022 WAFCON runners-up.
Banda was also quick to ask the fans back home to keep supporting the Copper Queens.
“It is a big challenge, Morocco are no pushovers, it’s a very good side,we have to up our game for us to win. It will be a tough game but we have to be determined and work hard as a team,” Banda says.
“It’s motivating to look at how the fans are supporting us and cheering for us, so my word to them is to keep supporting us. We will up our game and give them good results,” She added.
Mwape will use the friendlies to prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers, 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and 2023 COSAFA Women’s Championship that will run from 4 October – 15 October in South Africa.
The Copper Queens are in Group B alongside Angola, Mozambique and Comoros at the regional competition.