Super Falcons defender Ashleigh Plumptre says the team is well prepared and in high spirits ahead of their WAFCON quarterfinal showdown with Zambia on Friday, Bold Sports reports.
Nigeria topped their group after victories over Tunisia and Botswana, before rounding off with a goalless draw against Algeria. Zambia, meanwhile, secured second place in their group with wins over DR Congo and Senegal, alongside a draw with hosts Morocco.
Friday’s encounter will be a repeat of the 2022 WAFCON third-place game, where Zambia edged Nigeria to claim bronze. The Super Falcons will thus be seeking redemption, while also aiming to stay on track in their quest for a record-extending 10th WAFCON title.
Speaking during the pre-match press conference, Plumptre reflected on the team’s preparation and morale ahead of the game.
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“Preparations are going well. Compared to the group stage, we have a little bit more time between games so that has put us in a good position. We’ve been on the training field the last two days and we’re training again today. Everybody is in really good spirits. The preparation is going well and overall the atmosphere in the camp is calm but exciting at the same time.”
Zambia have found the back of the net six times in the competition — only Morocco and South Africa have scored more — while Nigeria boast a perfect defensive record with three clean sheets. This has set the stage for a contest between a prolific Zambian attack and a resolute Nigerian backline.
“I didn’t know people were looking at it like that but obviously we were really proud to go through the group stage and not concede,” Plumptre said. “As much as we have such good attacking threat both starting and the subs coming in as well, we do take pride holistically as a team to defend well, and protect our goal well.”
“I think you can tell in our games that we all defend as one and we try to attack as one. It’s not like that we’re relying on one sole goalscorer. We have threats from numerous places so I think that puts us in a good position against a team like this.”
Zambia’s frontline has been led by two of Africa’s top forwards — Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji — both of whom have posed major threats throughout the tournament. But Plumptre says Nigeria’s preparations have been focused on the Zambian team as a unit, not individuals.
“Obviously we know that Zambia have really good attacking threats and we respect that, and we’re prepared for that. But we don’t prepare for two players, we prepare for Zambia as a whole team.”
“We know that if you get consumed with two players, they can have threats that come from different aspects, which is, I think, the same for us as well.”
She also shared her admiration for Banda, who missed the 2022 WAFCON due to a gender verification ban, but has returned to prove her critics wrong on and off the pitch.
“I don’t know Barbra personally, but I do remember when all the stories came out and she had a lot of backlash even when she won, I think it was BBC’s award. As a human being, I have a lot of respect for her because I imagine anybody going through that is really tough.”
“But for her, she’s just been able to silence everybody. She continues to come out here and perform. She performs with a smile on her face, and you can see that the whole team and country get behind her. And even the women’s football world got behind her as well. So for sure, I have so much respect for her.”
“And again, I’m lucky that I’ve got to play against really good players in my career, and I’ve not been able to play against her yet. So, I really do look forward to come up against her and have that test.”
Plumptre’s standout performances earned her a place in the WAFCON group stage Best XI, alongside teammate Rasheedat Ajibade. The recognition came as a surprise to her, but she credited the collective quality of the Super Falcons squad.
“When it was posted and announced, I was honestly a little bit surprised. Honestly, I just feel, at the end of the day, grateful to be part of this team. I actually think when you’re around good players, it makes you play better.”
“We have a good team that helps me perform the way I can. I think ultimately, it’s a reflection of everybody. The way that we have performed, like coach Justin said, I think there’s plenty of players that could have made that 11.”
“So, yeah, it’s nice to be personally recognised. Like I said, it was a surprise to me, but, I just feel grateful that I get to go out there and perform alongside these incredible women that feel like sisters to me.”
Looking ahead to the knockouts, the Al Ittihad fullback stressed the importance of building on the positives from the group stage while adapting to the higher stakes of elimination football.
“Going to the knockout rounds, it’s a completely different picture. We kind of take the things from the group stage, try and harness some of the things that we probably could have done better with.”
“In the knockout rounds, obviously, it’s anybody’s game. So we wanna make sure that we put those performances into the next round because nobody thinks about the past when you’re trying to get to the next round.”
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