KAMPALA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Uganda women's national football team head coach Sheryl Botes says her team is determined to secure qualification for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup for the first time.

Uganda is one step away from booking a maiden appearance at the tournament after eliminating Zambia in the third round of African qualifiers last weekend. The two sides drew 1-1 in the first leg before Uganda sealed a 1-0 away victory to progress to the final qualifying round, where they will face Ghana.

"I want to thank my team for the effort and character. We were told before going to Zambia that no team had beaten them on home soil. But as Uganda, we worked tirelessly and believed in ourselves and got the result we needed," Botes told Xinhua on Wednesday.

The coach added that overcoming both Namibia and Zambia in earlier rounds had strengthened the team's belief ahead of the decisive tie.

"We shall continue to work hard because qualification for the World Cup will be for all Ugandans. The U-17 Uganda team made it to the World Cup last year, and we are also determined to write history," she added.

Botes stressed that preparation would be key ahead of the first leg in Ghana in May. "We are going to work very hard and the players are also aware of how close we are to booking a place at the U-20 Women's World Cup," she said.

Africa will be represented by four teams at the tournament, joining 20 others from across the world at the U-20 Women's World Cup, which will be hosted in Poland later this year.