Hosts Morocco in Winner Takes All Q’final Battle with Botswana Tonight

 *As Zambia, Senegal slug it out in the other game 

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

Hosts Morocco are to slug it out with Botswana this evening in one of the quarter final matches of the ongoing 12th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Rabat.

The winner of the match will grab one of the four African tickets to the World Cup in Australia. 

In the other quarter final match of the evening, Zambia are to play Senegal with the winner also advancing to the Semis and a ticket to Australia.

It will be the turn of the Super Falcons to take on Cameroon on Thursday evening in Casablanca while South Africa and Tunisia complete the quarter final rooster.

Head Coach of Botswana, Gaoletlhoo Nkutlwisang, remains unfazed by the fact that the Southern African ladies are playing in their first WAFCON since 1991 the competition kicked off.  She rates the chances of Botswana reaching the Semis and qualifying for the World Cup.

“It’s about preparing well and coming up with a good plan by analysing the Moroccans so that we can capitalise on their weaknesses,” she noted

Similarly, Morocco Coach, Reynald Pedros, also has one eye on the bigger picture and becoming continental champions.

“We are all together behind the same objective, qualifying for the World Cup,” the Frenchman said.

“We have to reassure the players about the potential of our team. It must be an additional motivation. We are going to play this match with a lot of desire, determination, as we did in each match.

“The tournament does not stop at the semi-finals. We have the ambition of course, if we qualify, to go as far as possible.”

There will be at least two first-time qualifiers for the World Cup as, from the quarter-final line-up in Morocco, only Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa have previously appeared at the global finals.

For the four sides beaten in the Wafcon last eight, there will be another opportunity to reach the 2023 World Cup.

Two repechage matches on Sunday will provide Africa’s two participants in a 10-team intercontinental play-off which will decide the final three qualifiers for next year’s tournament.

TODAY

Zambia v Senegal 7pm

Morocco v Botswana 7pm

THURSDAY 

Cameroon v Nigeria 6pm

S’Africa v Tunisia 9pm