Zambia coach Häuptle says Copper Queens on track after China tourney

Häuptle: Photo Credit: Football Association of Zambia media.

Zambia’s senior women’s national football team coach, Nora Häuptle, says the Copper Queens are on the right track and understand her playing philosophy ahead of the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) finals.

Häuptle assessed the team after winning a bronze medal at the 2025 Yongchuan International Tournament following a 4-3 win over Uzbekistan in a third-place play-off in China on Tuesday.

The 41-year-old coach said she was encouraged by the growing understanding of combinational play and individual tasks.

“I am very satisfied that the players are starting to understand the tasks. They worked a lot with individual tasks. I gave them feedback after the first game. I really feel they are starting to understand and transmit the same on the pitch and this is the very satisfying part of this camp,” she told Football Association of Zambia Television.

“We are on the right track. It is good exposure. The teams we played against Thailand and Uzbekistan are ahead of us in the world rankings. It was a very tight game against Thailand and we deserved a point.”

The former Ghana coach admitted that her team can do better in defending, after conceding two late goals on Tuesday.

“We need more stability in the defence. We now know certain positions and how we are going to go out,” she added.’

The Copper Queens started the tournament with a 3-2 loss to Thailand on Saturday before bouncing back to claim third place in the invitational tournament.

Zambia, without four top players including skipper Barbra Banda due to travel restrictions to China, are fine-tuning for the 2025 WAFCON finals.