WAFCON 2022: World Cup slots at stake as quarters kick off

The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco enters the quarterfinal stage today with two matches set to be played.

Zambia will take on Senegal in the first quarterfinal at 8 PM EAT at the Stade Mohamed V while Morocco and Botswana clash at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah at 11 PM EAT.

In both matches, the four teams will each be focused on a semifinal spot which will guarantee a ticket to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Zambia vs Senegal

Both Zambia and Senegal will be playing in the knockouts for the first time as they have never gone past the group stages at the WAFCON and it will come with a huge prize for one of them with a direct spot to the World Cup.

Captain Grace Chanda has been in fine form, scoring a brace so far at the tournament, but against Senegal the Copper Queens face one of the best defences in the tournament. The Teranga Lionesses have only conceded once so far – a penalty scored by Morocco’s Ghizlane Chebbak.

Zambia too have let in just one goal and will be looking to continue with their impressive setup at the back when they face the West Africans.

This is expected to be a very fast-paced team, as both teams like to counter attack and also fall back when they lose the ball.

Morocco vs Botswana

The hosts have been perfect in the tournament so far, grinding their way through their Group A matches and amassing nine points, scoring five goals and conceding just once, to top the table and book a place in the quarterfinals.

Morocco's captain Chebbak is the leading goal scorer at the tournament with three goals, all from set pieces – two penalties and a free kick, leads her side by example.

Against Botswana, Chebbak and Morocco will be up against one of the fastest teams at the tournament. The Mares pride themselves in counterattacks with the incredible Refilwe Tholakele at the center of their attacks and she will be hoping to be in her best form tonight.

Botswana head coach Gaoletlhoo Nkutkwisang has been spoken widely about and she likes coming up against big coaches and in this case they don’t come much bigger than Reynald Pedros – a two-time UEFA Women’s Champions League winner with Olympique Lyon.

This tactical battle is one to look out for in this fixture.

Additional reporting by CAF