ZAMBIA START COUNTDOWN TO COLOMBIA FRIENDLY

CREDIT :FAZ MEDIA

Zambia women’s national team kicked off their training camp in Lusaka on November 7 ahead of next week’s two friendly dates away against Colombia and coach Bruce Mwape had something to say about the warm-up and Barbara Banda's absence from the South American trip.

The 2022 Women’s AFCON Bronze medal winners in July, who were later crowned COSAFA Women’s Cup champions for the first time later in September, will play Colombia on November 12 and November 15 in Cali.

Colombia and Zambia have both qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup that New Zealand and Australia will co-host from July 20-August 20.

Mwape believes Colombia is an ideal opponent before facing their Central American Group C opponents Costa Rica at the FIFA Women’s World Cup next July.

"We are just looking at this game with Costa Rica in mind because they are from the same continental region and play almost the same type of football," Mwape said.

"So we will need to look at the tactics that they are using and try and use those same types of tactics when we meet Costa Rica at the World Cup.”

Zambia will open their Group C campaign against Japan on July 22, then play Spain on July 26 and close against Costa Rica on July 31.

The Colombia friendly will be Zambia's first engagement since winning their debut Southern African regional title in September at the COSAFA Women’s Cup held at Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa.

"We just have to tell the girls to be serious because it is actually a high-profile friendly game because if they relax I don’t think people will be happy with them," Mwape said.

"So they just need to be serious and make sure that we win the games that will encourage and motivate most of them."

But Zambia is without its China-based star striker Barbara Banda whose 10 goals at the COSAFA Women’s Cup saw her take home the Golden Boot and also scored the winning goal in extra-time in a 1-0 victory over South Africa.

Banda will miss the friendly because of the COVID-19 quarantine protocol that she would have had to endure upon returning to her base in China.

"There is nothing that we can do because her club says she cannot be released so we just have to depend on the players we have at the moment,” Mwape said.

But Mwape has summoned six European-based players for the trip.

Three of them are attacking options based in Spain namely the Madrid CFF duo of striker Rachel Kundananji and midfielder Grace Chanda who will captain Zambia in Banda’s absence.

Zaragoza CFF striker Rachel Nachula returns for the first time after a two-year exile that saw her miss the Olympics and WAFCON.