Bruce Mwape Zambia women’s team coach says Barbara Banda adds something extra special to his side that is hungry to win their debut COSAFA Women’s Cup title.
Banda on Sunday scored five goals in a 7-0 rout of Lesotho to qualify to the semi-finals with a match to spare in Group B at the tournament South Africa is hosting from August 31-September 11 2022.
“We all know that Barbara is one of our best players around. She is a fighter and wants to fight all the time,” Mwape said.
“In fact, she usually uses her speed, so if defenders are slow, you will find she will be there already her scoring.
“Her other teammates also can score, but with Barbara in the team, we expect to win by more significant margins.
“But even if she weren’t there, it would still be a win but by a lesser score line.”
Banda’s five goals put her in pole position for the 2022 COSAFA Women’s Cup golden boot.
She tops the competition on seven goals after netting a brace in Zambia’s 2-0 Group B opener against Namibia on September 2.
Zambia top Group B on a maximum of six points while Lesotho dropped from first to third on three points, tied with Namibia, who went second after beating winless Eswatini 3-1 in Sunday’s early kick-off.
And Mwape’s side is back in action on Tuesday against bottom-placed Eswatini.
Should Zambia manage a clean sweep of Group B, they will be on a potential semi-final collision course with defending champions and guest side Tanzania on September 9.
Guest side Tanzania ejected Zambia at the same stage of last year’s tournament after beating them 3-2 on post-match penalties following a 1-1 draw.
Zambia has never won the COSAFA Women’s Cup, and their 2019 runners-up finish their best-ever tournament record.
Written by: Kalumiana Kalumiana
