At the Dominican Republic-hosted 2024 U17 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Zambia Under-17 Women’s National Team midfielder Lillian Mwenda has assessed the team’s prospects of going past the group stages.

In the two host cities of Santiago De Los Caballeros and Santo Domingo, the youth World Cup will take place from October 16 to November 3. Group D includes the Copper Princesses, Brazil, Poland, and Japan.

Carol Kanyemba’s side will begin group stages with a tie against Brazil on October 17 before taking on debutants Poland on October 20, with the last group match against Japan set for October 23.

The team has intensified preparations for the tournament, with a local camp currently taking place in Lusaka.

Mwenda, 14, is a member of the provisional team that is in camp before the international camp, as confirmed earlier this week by Andrew Kamanga, president of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ).

Mwenda recounts her journey to the top.

She believes that the Kanyemba drilled side has what it takes to play against any opponent at the global showpiece.

“I’ve been dreaming of this since I was young. Coming to Under-17, it was not easy. I was dropped the first time, and I was very sad, but I worked hard for it,” Mwenda said.

She adds, “We are preparing very well; we are working very hard; everyone on the pitch is working hard. We are making sure so that when we go to the World Cup, we can play good football to impress the people on that side and other continents so that they can know that Zambia also plays good football.”

She attributes Zambia’s advantage over their group opponents to their physical prowess and endurance.

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“I think they are very good at playing, but us, Zambians, we’ve got good endurance, speed, and strength, so when we work tactically, it will be very easy to beat them,” she concluded.