Gladiators sharpen swords to face Copper Queens

Limba Mupetami WindhoekThe senior women’s football team, the Brave Gladiators of Namibia, and Zambia will battle it out in the Africa Women Cup of Nations (Afwon) second leg qualifier at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto, South Africa, this afternoon.This clash will guarantee the winner a spot in the finals in Morocco in July.The first leg, which was played on 16 February, was a hard-fought encounter with both sides missing chances to score and the match ending nil all.Namibian coach Woody Jacobs was pleased with the goalless draw, but is aware of the threat Zambia possesses. If they manage to score today, it will mean his side will have to score twice to advance.“The most important thing for me is that we came from Zambia and have the second match relevant in the sense that we were not overawed,” he said.“We are happier of the two teams, but there's still work to do. We want to qualify for Awcon, but in front of us is a formidable side.“I'm proud of the way the girls got stuck in and stopped an extremely dangerous Zambian side. We are looking forward to the second match. It's good to come away from a difficult place with a draw,” Jacobs added.Not too worriedWhile Zambia is missing striker Barbra Banda, their key player, Namibia has their leading light in the form of playmaker Zenatha Coleman, who can be a match-winner on any given day.“The Zambians did a good defensive job on her, but I'm not too worried because I know how decisive she can be at any given moment.“I'm relying more on the quality of the team rather than individuals. We need to play better and not give the ball away as much as we did, because you can only defend so well for so long. We need to get stronger, and we will be stronger for the next match,” the coach said.Jacobs added that he hopes for a little more luck for his side in the second leg and believes they can get the goals they need to advance.“At times we were riding our luck, especially the first half, but the second half we came back strong. It was a case of horses for courses. We knew we had to defend well and limit our mistakes, which is what we did.“We didn't get on the scoresheet, but with a bit of luck, incisiveness and determination, we can get in behind the Zambian defence,” he said.PushOn the other hand, Zambian coach Bruce Mwepu said there is a difference between his star player Banda and the players he has on hand currently. “There is nothing we can do. These are the players we've got, so we just have to push them.”The Copper Queens still have the likes of Grace Chanda and Maylan Mulenga.Namibia’s only previous appearance at the Awcon was in 2014 when they hosted the competition, but exited in the group stages.Zambia have been to the continental finals on three previous occasions, reaching the quarter-finals in 1995 before group stage exits in 2014 and 2018.The teams clashed in the 2014 tournament, with the Namibians winning 2-0 on home soil.They also met in the 2021 Cosafa Women’s Championship with Zambia winning 3-0, and at the 2019 edition of the tournament with Zambia again winning 3-2.The winner of today’s clash will advance to the continental finals and stay on course for a potential place at the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.The match will be livestreamed on Cosafa.TV as well as the Namibia Football Association’s Facebook page.

Gladiators sharpen swords to face Copper Queens

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-09

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Gladiators sharpen swords to face Copper Queens

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-09

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