Zambia’s bid for back-to-back FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup appearances got a boost on Saturday after a 2-1 victory over Benin in the first leg of the home-and-away final round of qualifiers.
The Copper Princesses dominated the match from the onset and opened the scoring just 15 minutes in through red-hot teenage sensation Mercy Chipasula, who struck from outside the penalty box.
Benin showed resilience after conceding, defending well despite sustained pressure from the Zambians. Still, the first half ended with Zambia leading 1-0.
The second half was more balanced, with Benin creating a fair number of chances. Their efforts were rewarded in the 58th minute when Yenido Gandonou found the equalizer.
Zambia responded quickly, winning a free kick few meters away from the edge of the penalty box. Chipasula stepped up again and sweetly struck the ball into the net to secure the win for the Copper Princesses.
Zambia’s coach Carol Kanyemba is now shifting focus to the second leg, set to be played in Togo next Saturday. She admitted the first leg was far from easy.
“The game was not easy, we had lot of opportunities in the first half. We planned not to conceded any goal,” she told a press conference after the game.
Kanyemba also expressed concerns about her team’s midfield performance.
“In the midfield because of the few gaps that we had, we could not play our game, because the midfielders were always running around looking for the ball and ended being tired. So we will work on the [cohesion] between the defenders and midfielders so that they coordinate well.”
Benin’s coach, Azonsou Idah, acknowledged Zambia’s superiority on the day but drew encouragement from her team’s goal.
“If we score on goal in lome in the second leg, I think we can qualify. Zambia was a better team today, they dominated the match and we will try to do the same in the second leg,” she said.
Zambia, who have qualified for the World Cup twice—in 2014 and 2024—are aiming to secure back-to-back tournament appearances for the first time in their history at this age level.
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