Zambia head coach Nora Häuptle has criticised the Confederation of African Football (CAF) regulations after the Copper Queens were eliminated from the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) despite finishing with six points in the group stage.
Zambia ended the group phase level on six points with Nigeria and Malawi but failed to secure a place in the quarter-finals after the final standings were decided using the head-to-head rule.
The decision left the Copper Queens out of the competition despite an impressive overall performance in the group.
Reacting to the outcome, Häuptle questioned the fairness of the competition’s tie-breaking regulations.
“We scored the most goals in this group, and we conceded the least goals,” she told Lusaka Times.
“Sometimes I’m not sure if we do the right things with this kind of regulations because it feels completely weird that we are out.”
HAUPTLE
Zambia’s exit has sparked debate over CAF’s tie-breaking criteria, with many observers questioning whether overall goal difference should take precedence over head-to-head results in such situations
