Zambia’s Copper Princesses suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat to Japan in their opening Group D match at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
The Nadeshiko made a fast start at the Mohammed VI Football Complex Pitch 2 in Rabat, scoring twice inside the opening 13 minutes to put Zambia on the back foot.
Nanami Kurita opened the scoring in the ninth minute, finishing from inside the box after Mei Hanashiro’s run and cut-back.
Japan doubled their advantage four minutes later when Grace Phiri inadvertently turned the ball into her own net after Sayana Oshita met a corner from the right.
Zambia managed to keep Japan at bay for much of the remainder of the first half, but the Asian side continued to dominate and eventually added three more goals after the break.
Substitute Wara Shimizu headed home at the far post in the 72nd minute, with Jessica Johnson unable to prevent the ball from crossing the line.
Kurita then completed her brace in the 88th minute, tapping into an unguarded net after Fuki Ito unselfishly set her up.
Asuka Tanaka added a fifth deep into stoppage time, producing an impressive solo run before finishing neatly to complete a comprehensive victory for Japan.
Ito was named Player of the Match after an influential performance for the Japanese side.
The result leaves Zambia with work to do ahead of their second Group D fixture against Venezuela on Wednesday.
Venezuela also began their campaign with a defeat, losing 2-0 to France in the group’s other opening match.
The Copper Princesses will need a strong response against the South Americans to keep their hopes of progressing to the knockout stage alive.
Zambia are still searching for their first victory in an opening group match at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, having now failed to win their opening fixture in all four appearances at the tournament.
