The Copper Queens have recorded a historic win at their maiden FIFA Women’s World Cup by beating Costa Rica 3-1 at a Group C match played in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Pride was at stake with both teams having been ejected from the competition but an impressive display by Zambia earned them the bragging rights.
Zambia held out for a famous win by seeing off a determined Costa Rica to hold on to a historic victory over the South Americans.
The Copper Queens scored through a Lushomo Mweemba goal in the third minute when she volleyed home an Avell Chitundu corner.
Mweemba will live to remember this day as she made history by scoring the quickest goal at the tournament but most importantly for being Zambia’s first World Cup scorer.
Zambia was in total control of the first half proceeding and it was no surprise that striker Barbara Banda converted a penalty kick after she was controversially judged to have been fouled in the box in the 33rd minute.
The second goal of the match was a milestone strike marking a historic 1,000th goal in FIFA women’s football.
In the second half, an improved Costa Rica pulled a goal back when Melissa Herrera bundled the ball home to capitalize on a goalkeeper Catherine Musonda mistake.
Shortly after, Costa Rica appealed for a penalty when midfielder Priscila Chinchilla collided with Musonda in the box, but were denied after a lengthy VAR check when replays showed forward Sheika Scott was offside in the build-up.
Herrera thought she had equalized with around 70 minutes but her strike was ruled out for offside.
Costa Rica were determined to draw level but Zambia’s Racheal Kundananji scored from a Banda pass to put the final nail in the Costa Rican coffin.
Japan thrashed Spain 4 goals to nil to finish first in Group C, with the Europeans being runners up.
Zambia ended the tournament on a high, with a third place finish while Costa Rica ended at bottom place after being the whipping girls of the group.
They failed at this tournament because the country does not respect their rights to decide what sexuality suits them. Many are lesbians and are living sad lives hiding who they really are. How can we expect them to win?
Fuseke
@Wagner iwe chi-car-lar disappear.
SO HISTORY HERE IS WHAT EXACTLY?……THAT THEY RECORDED ONE OF THE WORST PERFORMING DEFENCE LINES OR SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY SHOWED UP AT THE TOURNAMENT AND FAILED.LETS CALL A SPADE A SPADE AND NOT A BIG SPOON.TACT, SKILL, ENDURANCE, FITNESS, ETC THEY JUST DONT HAVE IT TO FEATURE AT THE WORLD STAGE.COSTA RICA AND ZAMBIA ARE AT THE SAME LEVEL…..THATS WHY WE LOOK LIKE WE’VE GOT.
I watched the FIFA Women’s World Cup game between Zambia and Costa Rica. It was my first time to watch the Zambian women in action in this tournament. Beating Costa Rica 3-1 was no mean achievement under the circumstances. Zambia was the lowest-ranked team in the tournament. I must admit, I was impressed by their performance. They accounted for themselves very well in this particular game. The players were really prepared for this game and all were in form. Keep it up, ladies.