Zambia’s Copper Princesses are on the verge of qualifying for the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after defeating Morocco 3-1 in the first leg of the last round of qualifiers in Lusaka on Saturday.
A draw next Saturday will be enough for coach Carol Kanyemba’s girls to qualify for the competition in the Dominican Republic, which takes place in October.
Namute Chileshe scored twice in the first half, in the 13th and 24th minutes, but Morocco’s Azraf Kautar took advantage of Zambia’s defensive shortcomings to pull one back in the 37th minute.
However, Chileshe was not done, as she completed her hat-trick in the 82nd minute to round up the game with a player-of-the-match performance, giving Zambia a massive advantage ahead of the second leg clash.
“We have conceded at home but we will try by all means not to concede when we go to Morocco. We know it’s not yet over but we’ve got an upper hand and we’ve got something that we need to protect with all our hearts,” Kanyemba told a post-match press briefing. ” So we are going to psyche our girls to work hard and continue being focused so that we can qualify for the World Cup.”
Zambia will look to qualify for the tournament for the first time since 2014 when the Barbra Banda-led Copper Princesses debuted at the Costa Rica edition.
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