By GWEN CHIPASULA –
CAPTAIN Barbra Banda is confident Zambia will beat South Africa and qualify to the final round of the Papua New Guinea 2016 FIFA Under-20 women World Cup qualifiers.
Banda said this in an interview at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport before the team left for South Africa yesterday morning for Saturday’s second round return leg against the Basetsana.
A win or a scoring draw at the Makhulong Stadium in Tembisa in a 15:00 hours kickoff will be enough to send Zambia through to the final round after the two sides battled to a barren draw at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
Banda said morale in camp was high and that the players were ready to repeat the Under-17 feat of beating South Africa at their home turf to advance to the next round and keep alive hopes of qualifying for the World Cup.
“We have trained hard and we are confident of carrying the day. We have beaten South Africa at their home ground before and we will do it again because we are only aiming at reaching the final tournament. We will make sure we go to the World Cup,” she said.
The Oswald Mutapa’s side will be today be joined by goalkeeper Hazel Nali and defender Jacqueline Nkole after completing their examinations.
Meanwhile, Basetsana head coach Elisabeth Migchelsen says she expects a physical match from the Zambians but that her side was looking at getting the needed result to advance in the competition.
“I expect a similar match to what we played in Zambia, very physical. The good thing is that the girls also know what to expect and what to do to protect themselves. They really want to play this game and show that they can play good football and get a good result against Zambia on Saturday. We believe we have what it takes to win,” she told Kickoff.com.
South Africa will be without two players who got injured in Zambia-defenders Chamelle Wiltshire and Bongeka Gamede.
Migchelsen has brought in defenders Leigh Daniels, Jamie-Lee Witbooi, Babalwa Mngxunya and striker Thembi Kgatlana.
“Injuries and changes are part of football, and with the game being a contact sport sometimes you get injuries and you need to replace them. I believe those we have called up will do well, and from what we have seen at training I am happy,” Migchelsen said.