Sat, 14 Oct 2017 10:32:10 +0000
By Michael Miyoba
ZAMBIA under-17 girls soccer national team coach Kaluba Kangwa says his girls are ready for Sunday’s Uruguay 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Botswana.
Speaking in an interview with Daily Nation Sports in Lusaka, Kangwa said the girls were showing a lot of commitment to achieving great results.
Kangwa said the girls’ target was to qualify for the 6th edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup which is scheduled to kick off on 13th November next year.
“Preparations for Sundays’ game have been successful so far. The girls look set to take on Botswana. They put in their level best during training and are focused to emulate the women’s senior national team,
“Our target is to qualify for next year’s World Cup to be hosted by Uruguay but first we have to progress to the next round. The girls have been working very hard as they are determined to make us proud,” Kangwa said.
Meanwhile, Striker Lydia Mubanga said she was confident that the young Shepolopolo will beat Botswana.
Mubanga said that the team was working hard to ensure that they started the qualifiers on a positive note by beating Botswana in the first leg at Sunset Stadium in Lusaka.
“We are looking forward to the match on Sunday. We are very confident that we are going to win,
“The coaches are telling us to work hard so that we have a chance to play at the World Cup like our friends did in 2014 at the under 17 Costa Rica World Cup,” Mubanga said.
Kangwa has selected a 23-member squad consisting of players from Southern (Livingstone and Choma), Central and Lusaka provinces.
The winner over two legs between Zambia and Botswana will face South Africa in December on the final of the qualifiers for the biennial international women’s youth football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA.
