Wafcon 2022: Zambia will treat Senegal quarter-final clash as a final for World Cup qualification – Mwape

Zambia coach Bruce Mwape has stressed the importance of going into their quarter-final clash in the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations against Senegal as a final on Wednesday.

The Copper Queens qualified for the last eight after defeating Togo 4-1 in their final Group B fixture at Moulay Hassan FUS in Casablanca on Saturday. The win enabled Zambia to top their group with seven points while Cameroon finished second on five.

According to the tournament's rules, any team that will reach the semi-finals will gain automatic qualification for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.

“We want to play as if we’re playing the final because once we win that one, automatically we know that we are in the World Cup,” Mwape said as quoted by BBC Sport Africa.

“This game is what we want to play - and we'll be taking it very seriously.”

A confident Mwape has further maintained any team in the competition including the ‘so-called big names in Africa’ is beatable.

“Any of the so-called big teams in Africa are beatable,” Mwape continued. “We have prepared adequately for all the teams that come our way and have played against teams like Nigeria and Ghana.

“But with the experience our players have gained from competitions like the Olympics, they can withstand any pressure from any team.”

Meanwhile, Togo coach Kai Tomety has expressed her disappointment after they failed to make it past the group stage on their debut after losing against Zambia in their final fixture.

“We wanted to win the match to reach the second round, but we came across the strongest [of sides]. Admittedly, the defence committed many mistakes, which cause these four goals, but I think we have become better organised.”

Tomety continued: “It's a first participation, and we've seen everything that happens at this level. We're going to learn lessons to prepare the girls for the next one. With the multiplication of training courses and other competitions, I think we will reach the level of the other teams.

“I would say that our performance was quite good, simply because we managed to score at least one goal in each match.

“We conceded four against Tunisia at the start and mistakes led to some of the goals. We also had tactical errors against Zambia, but we had a great match against Cameroon. We will find the remedies to play better.”

Zambia's clash against Senegal will be staged at Stade Mohammed V.