Copper Queens Ready to Face Morocco in WAFCON Opener
Copper Queens head coach Nora Häuptle says Zambia is “hungry to hunt” as they prepare to face hosts Morocco in the opening match of the 2024 TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) on Saturday night.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat, Häuptle expressed confidence in her squad’s preparation, following a focused 10-day training camp in Casablanca.
“We arrived very early in Morocco, 10 days ago, in Casablanca, where our pre-camp is situated. We had a very good training and the international players arrived early ahead of the competition,” said Häuptle. “We had a very closed friendly game that we played there, which went well, and also had a bit of Moroccan culture. So far, all good.”
Zambia holds a solid recent record against Morocco, having eliminated them in Olympic qualifiers. But the Swiss coach insists that history won’t matter once the whistle blows.
“There is competition between Zambia and Morocco. We had four games played in the last two years, and Zambia won the Olympic qualifiers, which makes good memories. But for tomorrow’s game, we start at 0–0,” she said.
Häuptle, who previously worked with Ghana, reiterated her commitment to Zambia and her pride in guiding the team into its third consecutive WAFCON appearance.
“I worked three years with Ghana, but I am here now, present. My team is Zambia. I know where I belong,” she stated. “We want to come here to hunt. I think we are all very hungry — the players and I — to hunt for a title.”
The Copper Queens kick off their Group A campaign against Morocco on Saturday, July 5 at 22h00 CAT, before facing Senegal on July 9 and DR Congo on July 12.
