Zambia’s Copper Queens finished their debut campaign with a 3-1 victory over Costa Rica, recording their first ever goal and win at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Zambia is one of eight debutants at the World Cup, which is currently taking place in Australia and New Zealand. In group C, the team was placed alongside Japan, Spain, and Costa Rica.
Despite the fact that they had already been eliminated, the two countries were nevertheless determined to win the most points possible in the last group match.
Two first-half goals from Lushomo Mweemba and Barbra Banda set Zambia on a path to victory. Costa Rica pulled one back in the second half through midfielder Melissa Herrera.
A late strike from Racheal Kundananji secured a perfect win for the African side. The win secured all three points for Zambia in their first ever campaign.
They became the third African country to win at the 2023 World Cup after Nigeria’s 3-2 win against Australia and Morocco’s 1-0 win over South Korea on Matchday 2 of the tournament. South Africa is Africa’s only representative without a win.