‘We are not on the same level’ – Zambia coach reacts to 5-0 loss to Nigeria Super Falcons

Zambia women’s national team coach Nora Häuptle has admitted her team were clearly second best after a heavy 5-0 loss to Nigeria in Casablanca, Morocco.

The Copper Queens’ hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the 2024 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations ended on Friday night, as Nigeria’s Super Falcons cruised to a dominant win.

Coach Häuptle was honest after the match, saying that Zambia could not keep up with the nine-time champions.

The quarter-final, played at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium, quickly turned against Zambia. Nigeria took control early and never looked back.

In the first half, goals from Osinachi Ohale, Esther Okoronkwo, and Chiwendu Ihezuo gave Nigeria a strong lead. Second-half goals from Tosin Demehin and Folashade Ijamilusi made it 5-0.

Before the match, Häuptle had been confident, but watched helplessly as her team struggled against a far stronger Nigerian side.

“It was a very clear loss for us,” she said after the match. “Congratulations to Nigeria—they fully deserved the win. Today, Nigeria were better than us in every way. None of our players performed well, and I didn’t do my job well either.

“We also saw that physically, we are not on the same level as Nigeria. We have to accept that.”

Zambia had looked promising in the group stage, going unbeaten and scoring six goals. Led by star strikers Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, they were seen as possible surprise contenders. But their big loss shows the gap that still exists between rising teams like Zambia and African giants like Nigeria.

It’s also a tough result for coach Häuptle, who only recently took over the team after working with Ghana’s women’s side.

Nigeria’s win puts them in the semi-finals of WAFCON for the 13th tournament in a row. They will now face the winner of Saturday’s match between South Africa and Senegal.

With strong attacking play and solid defence, the Super Falcons are looking like favourites to win a record tenth African title.

Elsewhere, tournament hosts Morocco beat Mali 3-1 and will meet the winner of Ghana vs Algeria in the other semi-final.