Morocco heavily fancied, but Zambia could spring Wafcon surprise

Hosts Morocco are expected to storm into the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) semifinals at the expense of Mali when the tournament returns after a three-day break but the other quarterfinal clash on Friday could be a thrill-a-minute humdinger between Nigeria and Zambia.

Morocco and Mali meet in Rabat in the second of the four quarterfinals, preceded earlier on Friday by a mouthwatering clash between the Super Falcons and Copper Queens in Casablanca.

Nigeria topped Group B with seven points to confirm their status as one of the favourites but struggled in their last two matches, needing a last-gasp winner to overcome Botswana and then being held to a goalless draw by Algeria.

Zambia were second to Morocco in Group A but gave the hosts a scare in their opening game and beat Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo in their next two matches to also finish on seven points, but runners-up on goal difference.

More impressively, they emerged as the most exciting side in the first round.

Their goal-scoring twins Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundamanji have netted three goals each in the competition, and the fitness of the Zambia side has been impressive, and there is an expectation they could upset the Nigeria at Larbi Zaouli Stadium.

Morocco are undoubted favourites given that opponents Mali lost 4-0 to South Africa in their last game and were most fortunate to squeeze into the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed finishers.

But Morocco coach Jorge Vilda agreed there was a concern that their opponent’s poor result in the last game could lead to complacency among his players.

“Mali has a similar level to us and a similar approach to the game. We must be respectful and humble in our approach.”

But he was confident that they could advance to Tuesday’s semifinal where they would meet the winner between Saturday’s clash between Algeria and Ghana.

“Our mood within the team is positive, and the main source of pressure on us comes from our own expectations and our determination to provide a good performance on the pitch,” Vilda added.

It is do or die for Mali, whose coach Mohamed Saloum admitted they needed a much-improved performance after the heavy defeat to Banyana.

“Our previous game wasn’t very good. It was a bad performance, and we didn’t expect four goals; that’s too much, but each game has its own circumstances, its own factors. But that loss didn’t have a negative impact on our psyche,” he claimed.