The Copper Queens were eliminated from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup after falling to Spain 5-0 in their second Group C match at Auckland’s Eden Park Stadium.

A brace each from Alba Redondo and veteran Jennifer Hermoso, as well as a goal from Abelleira Teresa, were enough for La Roja to seal their qualification for the round of 16.

The Copper Queens, who are making their debut at the tournament, started their campaign with a 5-0 loss to Japan. Their next match is against Costa Rica on Monday, who also lost to Japan 2-0 to exit the competition.

Zambia’s head coach, Bruce Mwape, told journalists after the game that despite the loss, he was pleased with his team’s performance.

“Our performance today was not that bad despite losing by that margin,” Mwape said. “Looking at the way we played the last game [against Japan] and the way we played today, I think there was a bit of improvement.”

“We made a few mistakes in the first half where we did not start well, allowing two goals. And in the second half, towards the end, that’s where we also made mistakes. Otherwise, the game was better than the last game against Japan.”

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Mwape admits that playing against the best teams in the world was difficult. He, however, stated that he learned a lot from his two World Cup games.

“Playing the best teams in the World is not easy,” he stated. “We have learned a lot, especially in the last two games. We have seen how our friends are playing, so going forward, we will improve on those tactics.”