WAFCON 2024: Zambia Coach Häuptle Concedes Defeat to ‘Superior’ Super Falcons After 5-0 Thrashing

Following a humiliating 5-0 loss in the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) quarterfinal, Zambia’s head coach, Nora Häuptle, has publicly acknowledged that the Nigerian team was “clearly superior” to the Copper Queens.

Zambia’s participation in the WAFCON competition came to an end on Friday at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco, after an overwhelming defeat to the Super Falcons of Nigeria.

Häuptle’s team had great expectations going into the game and was known for being a free-scoring team, but the nine-time African champs completely outplayed them.

Tosin Demehin and Folashade Ijamilusi added two more goals in the second half to complete the rout, while Osinachi Ohale, Esther Okoronkwo, and Chinwendu Ihezuo set the tone in the first half.

In her post-match reaction, Häuptle was candid about the result. “A very clear loss for us. Congratulations to Nigeria on a well-deserved victory. I think today we need to accept that Nigeria was simply better than us,” the Swiss tactician stated. She acknowledged that neither the players nor she as coach were “on top,” calling it a “collective loss.”

Häuptle also highlighted the significant gap in international exposure and talent depth between the two nations. “In the Nigerian squad, you see almost everyone plays abroad—either in France or America. They have many more players abroad. Nigeria is a country with about 200 million people, and Zambia has just 20 million. We don’t have so much talent,” she lamented. She noted that while Zambia has around nine or ten players abroad, the majority of her squad still plays in the domestic league and is not yet physically or tactically on par with elite-level teams. “We’ve seen that physically, we’re not on the same level. We need to go back and find ways for our players to go abroad earlier and develop.”