Zambia’s U-17 Women’s National Team has advanced to the third and final round of the Morocco 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

The Copper Princesses secured their place with a commanding 7-0 aggregate victory over DR Congo, following a 2-0 win in Sunday’s second-leg encounter. The result came after Zambia had recorded a 5-0 victory in the first leg at home.

Carol Kanyemba’s side will now face Ethiopia in July, with a place at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup at stake as they aim to qualify for the tournament for a third consecutive edition.

Speaking after the defeat, DR Congo coach Baylon Kabongolo admitted he did not know his players.

“Compared to the first match, where we had three training sessions, I knew the players’ names, but not even their faces. It was the first match against Zambia that allowed me to get to know the players. So, it was the first benchmark match. It gave me an idea to manage to do something, to get an idea of, er, the girls, and what they are capable of becoming,” Kabongolo bemoaned.

When asked how it was possible that he did not know his players, the coach explained that he had not conducted a national selection process but instead invited players who already had passports.

“Actually, I didn’t hold a national selection. I just gathered the girls who already had passports and were of the required age. That was all it was. So, there was no way to get passports. I was asking for girls who had passports, either because they were under-15 or because they had passports. Those are the girls I brought together. It wasn’t a national selection. It was just gathering the girls who had had passports. That’s all.”

For Zambia coach Kanyemba, no match is easy, and she wants her team to remain focused as they pursue another World Cup qualification and seek to improve on last year’s performance.

“No game is easy. We won at home 5-0, but we knew that coming here was not going to be easy. Not that it’s a good team, but that there will be a lot of mind games being played,” Kanyemba said.

“We look forward to playing against Ethiopia, and we know that it’s not going to be an easy team, being the final round of the qualifiers. Going to the World Cup is our dream, and it looks very possible as long as we remain focused. The only challenge will be to beat our previous record of the round of 16. So our girls need to work hard and know that in the last World Cup, we reached the round of 16, and this time, a lot will be expected of us.”

Zambia has participated in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup three times and is now looking to secure qualification for a fourth appearance.

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