Cape Town - Zambia pulled off a major shock by beating Nigeria 1-0 on Friday to win the bronze medal at the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
The Copper Queens clinched the third position for the first time in their history thanks to an unfortunate own goal by the Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie in Casablanca.
The goal inadvertently scored by the Super Falcons shot-stopper Nnadozie was enough for the Zambians to claim their first medal in the history of the tournament.
The Queens got the better of the record title holders Nigeria who paid the price for their profligacy and finished outside the top three for the first time in ten years.
Bruce Mwape's ladies showed early glimpses of an upset in the game with some delightful display which paid off at the half-hour mark.
However, the Super Falcons were a constant threat with Ngozi Okobi Okeoghene and Christy Ucheibe failing to score from decent opportunities.
A thunderous strike from Zambia's Evarine Katongo from the edge of the box struck the woodwork but Nnadozie could not deal with the rebound as the ball hit her to enter the net on 29 minutes.
Nigerian star Gift Monday struck the post before Zambia goalkeeper Hazel Nali produced an amazing save to stop Ashleigh Plumptre’s freekick just before the break.
Nigeria came into the second half with a different attitude as they tried to get the equaliser, but the Zambians dealt with any threat that came their way.
The Copper Queens held onto their lead to ensure the bronze medal remained theirs with Nigerian finishing outside the top three since the 2012 tournament in Equatorial Guinea.
Meanwhile, Banyana Banyana have faced Brazil at the Maracana before at the Olympics and are confident their experience will ensure they won't be intimidated by a passionate capacity Moroccan crowd in the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final on Saturday (start 10pm SA time).L
This was the assurance from South Africa coach Desiree Ellis, ahead of the clash at the cauldron of Rabat’s Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex.
“We have played in front of full stadiums before. In 2015, we played against Equatorial Guinea in the Olympic Games qualifiers and won," said Ellis.
IOL Sport