• SHEPOLOPOLO’S Hellen Mubanga tries to dribble past Namibia’s Lina Katuta during the 2014 Africa Women Championship (AWC) opening match at Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek on Saturday. Picture courtesy of CAFONLINE

By SHAMAOMA MUSONDA –
ZAMBIA’S continued participation in the TN Mobile 9th Africa Women Championship will be decided today when the Shepolopolo face eight-time champions Nigeria in a must-win clash in a 17:00 hours kick off at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek.
Appearing at Africa premier women football tournament for the first time, the Shepolopolo bungled up what looked like the easiest fixture of Group A after losing 2-0 to hosts and fellow debutants Namibia.
Nigeria on the other hand punished their fellow West Africans Ivory Coast winning 4-1 and a win today would see them qualify for the semi finals and send Zambia packing ahead of the final match against the Ivoirians.
A slow start gave the Namibians chance to score twice in the first half before the Kabange Mupopo captained side turned on the heat and dominated the entire second half but sadly there was no goal to come.
And that same slow start is what coach Charles Bwale will be hoping the Shepolopolo avoids as the Super Falcons of Nigerians are too experienced to punish any laxity and anytime.
Bwale is well aware of the threat Nigeria posses and admitted that there will be no room for errors in today’s game regardless of which opponent will be at hand for Zambia.
Bwale will not be expected to make several changes but will play Helen Mubanga as a lone striker and tighten up the midfield to restrict Nigeria but may this time start with pacey winger Mary Mwakapila.
Mwakapila should provide the needed variation in attack where she should make runs on the right-hand flank and Mupopo doing the same on the left but should both be seen a lot in midfield.
One thing that will be clear in the heads of the players is that Nigeria has been to each of the past 10 tournaments at which they have won eight times and faltered only on two occasions where Equatorial Guinea won in 2008 and 2012.
With Equatorial Guinea missing out courtesy of Ivory Coast, who are Zambia’s last group stage opponents this Friday.
But history matters less to this team as they reached the AWC by defying odds, overcoming Tanzania and then Zimbabwe both of whom were huge favourites with Nigeria to be just another of those favourites Zambia has faced.
Nigeria struggled and were on the knife edge against Ivory Coast but their 19-year-old forward Ngozi Okobi believes her side did not play at their best and will be on top of the game against Zambia.
“We expect victory in our game against Zambia. We are here to reclaim the trophy,” said Okobi, who is making her third successive appearance at the continental women’s football showpiece.
Zambia’s probable team line up: Hazel Nali, Grace Zulu, Ethel Chama, Susan Banda, Annie Kibanji, Emeldah Musonda, Misozi Zulu, Esther Mukwasa, Mary Mwakapila, Helen Mubanga, Kabange Mupopo.