Youngster Faith Kaunda finally made her Copper Princesses debut on Saturday in the team’s 2-1 win over Benin in the third and final round of the 2025 U17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers, first leg.
Kaunda came off the bench to play in an unfamiliar left back position and impressed despite it being her first game.
Kaunda was left ecstatic after a dream debut and revealed that coach Carol Kanyemba gave her confidence that she can do it despite it being her first game in national colours.
The 13 year old ZedPro Sports Foundation forward was happy to be involved in the second goal scored by Mercy Chipasula.
“I am very happy to have made my debut. The coach encouraged me to play, she said she knew it was my first time but she was confident that I could play,” Kaunda told the ZamFoot Crew.
“I am happy that the pass I gave ended up with us winning a foul and us scoring the second goal. For the second leg, we need to have love as a team so that we can win the second half because this was the first leg.”
“To the fans I want to say thank you for coming to watch us,”She added.
Meanwhile skipper Mercy Chipasula described the match against Benin as a tough encounter.
Chipasula says the team needs to work hard in the second leg to win the game and not concede a goal.
“The game was not easy, it was very difficult, the way we watched them and how they played was very different. We need to work hard in the second leg like the way we did here after conceding we pulled up our socks. We need to win in Togo and avoid conceding so we need to work hard as a team,” he said.
“I am happy to have scored. As a captain I have to lead by example. I kept pushing my teammates so that we kept pushing until the end of the match.”
The second leg will be staged at a neutral venue in Lome on Saturday, 26 April 2025, following a decision to host Benin’s home fixture in Togo.
The overall winner over two legs will qualify for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2025 to be held in October.
