Top contenders Cameroon and Zambia cancelled each other out in their opening Group B matches over the weekend but are favoured to register a first win of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals when they play a second group game on Wednesday, live on SuperSport.
Zambia take on Tunisia in the first of the double header feature at the Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca, followed by Cameroon against rookies Togo.
Cameroon are past World Cup finalists while Zambia went to the last Olympic Games as one of the African representatives and are both fancied to be among the contenders for a top-four place at the tournament in Morocco, which guarantees a berth in next year’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
But they will both have been disappointed with the outcome of their opening group clash in Casablanca on Sunday where Cameroon squandered a myriad of chances while Zambia looked subdued and without any of the verve they displayed when they knocked the Indomitable Lionesses out of the Olympic Games qualifiers.
Zambia’s participation at Wafcon has been overshadowed by the absence of skipper and star striker Barbara Banda for unexplained “medical reasons” which the Confederation of African Football could not explain when they held a media briefing on Sunday.
Football Association of Zambia president Andrew Kamanga said: “We have encountered some challenges around player eligibility for the competition, but we have now focused on the 22 soldiers chosen to do battle for Zambia.
“Naturally, we are in the background seeking redress on the circumstances surrounding some of our players. We are constrained from explicitly discussing some of the issues as they hinge on ethics and the right to privacy of the individuals involved.”
Cameroon’s Italian-based forward Ajara Nchout Njoya said it was imperative they redeemed themselves against Togo, who were beaten 4-1 by Tunisia in their first ever Wafcon match and finished the game down to 10 players.
“Our first match did not go well. Zambia was really within our reach but we did not win. But we are not going to complain about the point that we obtained at the end of the draw either. We will show a better face against Togo.”
Zambia will be wary of Tunisia, high on confidence after their win over Togo, which included two goals for Sabrine Ellouzi.