The Zambia Under-17 Women’s National Team has intensified preparations for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, set to kick off in Morocco on Friday.
Carol Kanyemba’s side drew 1-1 with Colombia in a closed-door warm-up game on Tuesday. Zambia came from behind after Maria Baldovino gave the South Americans the lead in the 41st minute, with captain Mercy Chipasula leveling the scores in the 66th minute.
Following the result, coach Kanyemba was pleased to test her players but expressed concern about the team’s striking department, which failed to convert several chances.
“Having played the first friendly against Colombia today, I think we’re able to see most of the things that we’ve been working on; our team’s coordination, balancing [and] attack,” Kanyemba told FAZ media in an interview. “But I think we’ve still fallen short of finishing. We created a lot of chances, but we failed to make them count. But in defense, at least we had good organization, though we had a few lapses in the midfield, which we still need to work on. And the beauty with friendlies is that they expose your strength and your weaknesses, and we’re able to see that.”
Kanyemba is, however, optimistic about addressing the team’s weaknesses ahead of Sunday’s opener against Paraguay.
“Before we play our first game, I think we’re going to coordinate on our team’s work so that we get everything into place.”
The Copper Princesses are in Group D alongside Brazil, Poland, and Paraguay. They are making their third appearance at the competition following their participation in the 2014 and 2024 editions.
Kanyemba’s side will aim to improve on last year’s performance, where they failed to win a single game, losing 1-0 to Brazil, 2-0 to Poland, and 4-1 to Japan.
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