Nigeria are doing their best not to focus on Zambia's star duo of Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji ahead of their Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) quarterfinal at Stade Larbi Zaouli in Casablanca on Friday.
With six goals between them -- all of Zambia's goals in their three Group A games -- 'Bandananji' have cemented their reputation as the most lethal combination of forwards in Africa.
Unsurprisingly, the spotlight has been on the duo heading into the quarterfinals, and how Nigeria, who were somewhat unconvincing in their final two Group B games, will deal with their threat.
Nigeria coach Justin Madugu says the emergent Zambia team "have come of age, and they boast a lot of strength based on the quality and the caliber of players they have in the team."
He said at his pre-game press conference that "also comes with extra pressure on anybody, " but Zambia's quality meant the Super Falcons could not afford any errors.
"It doesn't give room for mistakes," he said. "You must get ready and be fully prepared for them in all aspects. For the game, we know what they can do; we are equally prepared, and ready for it."
Nigeria have made the semifinals in all 12 editions of WAFCON, overcoming adversity on several occasions.
Ghana's Black Queens provided one of the earliest tests of the Super Falcons' resolve in 2002, when they stunned the then near-invincible Nigerians 1-0 in group play at home in Warri. Nigeria bounced back to win the title.
More recently, Cameroon provided the stiffest roadblock on Nigeria's unbeaten run to the semis in 2022. That test came with the added pressure of Women's World Cup qualification for the winners, but Nigeria claimed a narrow 1-0 victory.
Nigeria now face Zambia in a rematch of the 2022 third-place playoff, which the Copper Queens, making only their second appearance at the tournament, won 1-0. Zambia were without Banda and Kundananji in that tournament, after they had failed "gender verification tests."
That result stung the Nigerians, and the addition of Bandananji should add some spice to this contest.
Nigera must overcome scoring issues
The Super Falcons have found goals hard to come by in Morocco, despite defeating Tunisia 3-0 in their opening group game; they were subsequently suffocated by the low block employed by Botswana and Algeria in their final two group games, and managed only one goal -- in the 89th minute vs. Botswana.
Nigeria hence ended the group stage with their second-lowest goals total in WAFCON history. Only in 2008 have they scored fewer goals in the group stage, when they tallied two and lost in the semifinals.
Madugu says the team is working on a solution.
"Goal-scoring is an area that I am aware that we have not done too well," he said. "We have been trying to work on how to improve on that area. But these are things that take time. It is a continuous process."
Ashleigh Plumptre says the team must remain patient.
"When teams drop off and let us have the ball, it is about not being impatient," the centre-back said. "We need to just find ways to possess the ball with purpose, and not rush too much. Overall, just finding more fluidity going forward, more combinations, trusting one another, and supporting one another on the ball."
To be fair to the Super Falcons, they have created chances, and beyond the low block employed by Botswana and Algeria, it took heroic goalkeeping performances to thwart them. Zambia do not appear to have the same quality in goal, with Mgambo Musole their No. 1, and the Super Falcons should look to test her early and often.
Midfielder Halimatu Ayinde insists Nigeria's approach will not change, saying the Super Falcons have to look internally for solutions and not think too much about the opposition.
"We haven't really scored many goals, so the preparation is ongoing for us to create chances to convert our goals," she said. "We are ready for them. We are ready to play and win."
Musole might need to brace for a busy day at the office.
Falcons looking at the big picture
Banda and Kundananji are grabbing all the headlines ahead of the quarterfinals, so it was no surprise that most of the questions for Madugu and his Nigeria team since the match-up was confirmed were about the duo.
But the Nigerians are deflecting that attention.
"We are preparing against Zambia, not against two players," Madugu said. "We know their strengths, and we also have our own plan of how to deal with that."
For his players, it is a case of sticking to the tried and trusted.
"We just have to keep doing what we have been doing, stay focused, try to build ourselves for the game," Ayinde said. "We respect them, they're a good team. But we don't have to think about them so much. We have to focus on our own build up."
Plumptre is looking forward to the contest.
"We know that Zambia have really good attacking threats, and we respect that," she said. "We obviously prepare well for that, but we don't prepare for just two players; we prepare for Zambia as a whole team because if you get consumed by two players they can have threats that can come from different areas."
Still, Plumptre is excited by the prospect of facing Banda.
"I have a lot of respect for her," she said. "She performs with a smile on her face, and you can see that the whole team and country get behind her. I'm lucky to have played against really good players in my career, but I haven't been able to play against her yet. I'm looking forward to come up against her and have that test."
Will Zambia attack or borrow from the low-block playbook?
Nigeria boast the best defence at this WAFCON, with a shutout in each of their three group games. It is the first time they have kept three clean sheets since the inaugural tournament in 1998, when they scored 20 goals without reply.
However, there were signs that their defence could be breached when their Group B opponents got behind them on transition. None of those opponents had the quality to punish Nigeria, but that will not be the case with Banda and Kundananji. One or both of Zambia's stars in transition could lead to panic for Nigeria, the sort that leads to goals or penalties.
Zambia coach Nora Hauptle is not shy about her team's strength in transition.
"I think we have a good plan, and it is no secret that our transitions are the best, in my opinion," the Swiss coach said. "We have players on the field like Grace Chanda, Prisca Chilufya, Racheal and Barbra, who are able to execute transitions in high speed."
Hauptle suggested the Copper Queens could also employ a defensive strategy that borrows from the that which frustrated the Super Falcons in Group B.
"We analyzed Nigeria and we know what we want to allow them, that we always keep the initiative defending wise, where we want to go for the ball, win the balls," she said. "We want to steer them opponents where we want to steal the balls and execute our transitions. We are here to hunt. We respect that Nigeria is [a] several[-time] winner of this tournament, and they are in the role of the favourite, but I can assure you that my team is very happy."
Will Nigeria shut out Bandananji and keep another clean sheet? Or will the Copper Queens end Nigeria's unbroken run of semifinal appearances at WAFCON?