Zambia’s Copper Queens trip to South Korea began with a 5-2 loss at the Suwon World Cup Stadium.
The Copper Queens got off to a shaky start, making several defensive errors and appearing to have a weak midfield, which led to them conceding in the 23rd minute when Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Cho Sohyn put the Asians ahead.
After appearing to have settled into the game, Spain-based striker Racheal Kundananji equalised with an overhead kick from inside the 18-yard box in the 37th minute.
After the equaliser, the Copper Queens appeared to have gained momentum, as a link-up play between Grace Chanda and Kundananji resulted in the latter setting up captain Barbra Banda, who made no mistake to tap in the second for Zambia in the 45th minute and end the first half in the visitors’ favour.
South Korea came back in the second half with all guns blazing.
Lee Geium-mini of Brighton and Hove Albion FC equalised for the Koreans in the 68th minute after another defensive blunder in the Zambian half.
The England-based striker completed her brace in the 62nd minute with a brilliant shot from outside the box, before Sohyun extended the lead to four with her second goal of the match in the 83rd.
READ MORE: Morocco women’s team tipped to emulate the atlas lions at the 2023 Women’s World Cup
The goals kept coming as Eusunu Park added the icing on the cake in the 90th minute with a fifth goal to seal the victory for the home team after Zambia failed to clear their lines once more.
Zambia and South Korea who are both preparing for the World Cup will square off again on Tuesday in another friendly match.