Copper Queens Crash Out of COSAFA After Namibia Defeat

Zambia will not defend their regional crown after a 1-0 semi-final loss to Namibia women’s national football team at the COSAFA Women’s Championship.

Speaking in a post-match press conference, Copper Queens assistant coach Charles Haalubono admitted the result fell short of expectations.

“It’s actually not the result we wanted. It’s not a good result,” Haalubono said. “I think we tried to play our game, but it couldn’t work out for us. We were so defensive and we didn’t create enough scoring opportunities.”

The decisive moment came late in the match from a counter attack situation. Haalubono pointed to defensive lapses as the turning point.

“I think our marking one-on-one was not all that good. Our defender was easily beaten from a corner and she managed to bring in a cross, which unfortunately we failed to clear,” he explained.

As the match edged towards the final minutes, the technical bench had begun preparing for a possible penalty shootout.

“At that particular point, I started thinking about penalties,” he said. “Unfortunately, we conceded from that corner.”

The coach acknowledged tactical shortcomings, particularly in attack.

“We have to improve on our crosses. I think we didn’t have any good crosses in the whole match. We just have to improve on our wing play. That’s where we suffered the most,” Haalubono noted.

Despite concerns about players slipping on the surface, he dismissed the pitch as a factor.

“The surface is perfect, super good. None of our players complained,” he said.

Haalubono congratulated Namibia on the win, adding: “Their tactical plan worked. They were defensive but dangerous on counter-attacks.”

Zambia will now shift focus to the third-place playoff on Sunday against Zimbabwe, with Haalubono confirming changes to manage player workload.

“We are going to make a lot of changes. We have to protect our players,” he said.

Namibia and South Africa will battle for the top prize.