The 9th edition of the U17 FIFA Women’s World Cup will kick off in a little under a month as 24 teams will face off for the ultimate prize.
The Copper Princesses of Zambia are among the teams that will take part in the global showpiece.
ROAD TO THE TOURNAMENT
The Copper Princesses entered the qualification race in the second round facing Tanzania.
Skipper Mercy Chipasula led the team away with a brace and goal from Grace ‘Pogba’ Phiri as they won 3-0 before a 1-0 win at home courtesy of Natasha Nkaka at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
In the third round, Benin came calling and again Mercy Chipasula took charge with a brilliant brace at home as Zambia cruised to a 2-1 win in a match that saw fantastic 13 year left footed Faith Kaunda make her debut.
Looking at how close the home game was, some fans were worried going into the second leg but Chipasula and company had other ideas.
Zambia were two nil up in the opening 10 minutes, Chipasula with both goals. Victoria Mbali and Ruth Mukoma scored a goal each in the last ten minutes to seal a fantastic 4-1 win and 6-2 on aggregate and book a place at the World, qualifying to back to back tournaments, a first in Zambia’s history.
This will be the third appearance for Zambia at the international women’s youth football championship having only previously appeared at the 2014 and 2024 editions.
PREPARATIONS
The team entered in camp last weekend for their final stretch of preparations with coach Carol Kanyemba naming a strong 36 member provisional squad led by Chipasula.
Kanyemba has all her players in camp at the moment though some are carrying knocks but nothing serious.
“Some of the girls came with injuries from their clubs but we are trying to manage them. They are not that bad so we are hoping they will recover by the end of this week so that we can start working on team tactics and solidify the style of play we want to use but so far all the girls have reported in camp,” she said.
From the squad summoned the biggest news was the omission of ZESCO Ndola Girls winger Ruth Mukoma and England based midfielder Jessica Choolwe Johnson.
Kanyemba confirmed what was earlier reported by the ZamFoot Crew that Aston Villa refused to release their player with the prolonged time away not welcome by the club.
“Players are picked based on current form and training. So you look at players that are playing at their clubs and in form. You might have players that were part of qualifiers but are not in form. We will not call them just because of the name,” Kanyemba said in an interview.
“Johnson, her academy, Aston Villa have decided not to release the player because they want her to start training with them. The unfortunate thing is that the U17 games are not affected by the window so we tend to lose players when the season is on. For Ruth Mukoma she has not been training with her team, ZESCO Ndola Girls which means she is not in form and that’s why she was not called,” she added.
Kanyemba says her team will go into the tournament to compete and that they are working hard in training for prepare for their opponents.
Zambia will also face a familiar opposition in Japan, a team that beat them 4-1 in their final group game last year.
“All the teams will go to the World Cup to compete, no team is coming to just participate. All the three teams we meet in this group are tough opponents and we need to prepare for them. We need to understand their style of play and how we can counter that,” she said.
“Meeting Japan for the second time won’t be easy, they are a good side with exposure and all the facilities. Meeting a team again is very tricky. We hope to make a very positive impact. We are trying to psych our girls to be focused and give their all because at the end of the day football is what you put in, you put in 100 percent and you get out 100 percent.”
The Green Buffaloes Women’s Football Club assistant coach wants her team to go in every game with the mindset of winning regardless of the opponent.
“We go in every game with the aim to win regardless of the team we are facing, the fact that we are from Africa does not right us off, but it’s about the attitude we go into the game with irrespective of the opponent,” she said.
“With the right attitude we are able to beat any team. We take a leaf from Saudi Arabia when they beat Argentina. I think all we need is determination as a team, as a technical bench we will be able to give the players the information and knowledge they need, and with the help of the Video Analyst we will be able to look at our opponents , their strengths and weaknesses. So at the end of the day it will be up to the players to put in their effort and believe in themselves and can stand with any player regardless of where they come from.”
The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has hinted on an international camp for the team ahead of the global showpiece but details of when and where are very scarce.
“The team will have an international camp in the final stages of preparation for the tournament where they are perched in Group F alongside Japan, New Zealand and Paraguay.”- FAZ posted on their Facebook page.
NKAKA AIMS FOR GOLD
Defender Natasha Nkaka has returned to the Copper Princesses’ set up after missing the World Cup last year due to injury and she is aiming very high with winning the tournament as her overall objective.
The Green Eagles player also believes this is a good opportunity for the girls to sell themselves.
“It’s good we have qualified for the second time. It’s an opportunity for us to even sell ourselves as we play the games. We need to play like it’s our last time. We need to work on our mistakes when we played Japan at the last World Cup. We learned a few things and we are going to work on those mistakes because we want to win the World Cup and bring the trophy home,” she said.
WORLD CUP
Zambia opens its account on 19 October against Paraguay at the Football Academy Mohammed V1 before facing Japan three days later at the same venue with the final group match on 25 October.
The Copper Princesses are making a return to the FIFA World Cup for a record third time having been at the biggest showpiece in 2014, 2024 and 2025.
Group F will be based in Salé, which is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg River.
