Zambia’s Under-17 women’s national team, the Copper Princesses, suffered a 3-0 defeat to China in a pre-World Cup friendly played behind closed doors at the Complexe Sportif Moulay Rachid in Morocco on Friday afternoon.
The result provides Zambia with an opportunity to assess their preparations ahead of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, which gets underway in Morocco on 17 October.
The two sides went into the break goalless after China created several promising opportunities, with Liu Yuxi striking the post in the 15th minute and Bai Shuiling heading wide as the Asian side threatened to take the lead.
Zambia goalkeeper Bukata Kakumbi also produced important interventions to keep China at bay during a first half in which the Copper Princesses struggled to contain their opponents’ attacking pressure.
However, the deadlock was broken just two minutes into the second half when a defensive mix-up between substitute Gift Mazimba and Kakumbi resulted in an own goal, handing China the advantage.
Zambia attempted to respond, with Precious Mwewa heading towards goal from a corner in the 50th minute before Grace Phiri tested the Chinese defence with an acrobatic effort in the 63rd minute.
Kakumbi kept Zambia in contention with an excellent save to deny Zheng Niman in the 60th minute, but China continued to pose a threat going forward.
Their pressure paid off again in the 69th minute when Yang Yuhan converted a pass from Zheng Niman to double China’s lead.
Zambia made further changes in search of a response, introducing Elizabeth Mofya and Phidah Muzuwa for Lillian Mwenda and Beatrice Njobvu before withdrawing Grace Phiri, Taonga Mubanga and Faith Kaunda for Ethel Njobvu, Agness Mwaka and Faith Kapilingo in the 85th minute.
China, however, had the final say, scoring their third goal through Zhao in the 84th minute to complete a comfortable victory.
The friendly formed part of Zambia’s preparations for the upcoming global showpiece, where the Copper Princesses will be making their fourth appearance after qualifying for the 2014, 2024 and 2025 editions.
Zambia face challenging Group D campaign
The Copper Princesses have been drawn in Group D alongside Japan, Venezuela and France for the tournament, which runs from 17 October to 7 November.
Zambia will open their campaign against Japan on 18 October before taking on Venezuela on 21 October. Their final group-stage fixture will be against France on 24 October.
The 10th edition of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup will feature 24 teams, with Africa represented by five nations, including hosts Morocco.
With the tournament fast approaching, Zambia will be looking to address the shortcomings exposed against China as they prepare for a demanding group-stage campaign.
