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Crested Cranes dare Zambian Olympians
The Crested Cranes. PHOTO/COURTESY/FUFA
What you need to know:
- A 33-minute penalty from then captain Tracy Jones Akiror and a commendable performance in goal from current captain Ruth Aturo secured bronze for Uganda in South Africa then.
Uganda will hope for at least a repeat of their 1-0 win over Zambia in the third place playoffs of the 2018 Cosafa Women Championships.
A 33-minute penalty from then captain Tracy Jones Akiror and commendable performance in goal from current captain Ruth Aturo secured bronze for Uganda in South Africa then.
However, since then, the Copper Queens have been to the Olympics while Uganda are using this tournament as a precursor for the 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations qualifiers that start mid-month with a first round clash against Ethiopia.
Crested Cranes and Zambia, who have at least half of the players that went to Tokyo in Port Elizabeth, meet again in Group C of the 2021 Cosafa edition with a spot at the top of the table for a position in the semifinals at stake.
“We went into the (Eswatini) game needing goals and we played for that,” coach George Lutalo said.
“We’re confident that we can do the job against Zambia too. They are a good team but we’ll put our act together and turn up better than them,” he added.
Uganda sit second in Group C with four points after drawing 0-0 with Nambia last week and beating Eswatini 5-1 on Sunday. Zambia still have the perfect record and six points owing to their 3-0 and 5-0 wins over Namibia and Eswatini.
Only a win can secure a semifinal berth for Uganda and a matchup with Group B winners Tanzania in the last four.
Zambia have one leg in as their six points and +8 goal difference cushions them against the threat of Malawi, who beat Angola 2-0 to go to six points and a +2 goal difference in Group A.
Malawi hold the advantage in the second-placed team table and are hoping Zambia beat Uganda.
Cosafa women’s champ
GROUP C | TODAY - 4.30pm
Uganda vs. Zambia
Namibia vs. Eswatini
