Morocco and Nigeria were eliminated from the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup on Tuesday, leaving Zambia as the continent’s only hope in the tournament.
Morocco suffered a heavy 6-1 defeat to North Korea, while Nigeria were thrashed 4-0 by Italy, both exiting at the round of 16 stage.
Zambia’s Copper Princesses face an uphill battle tonight when they clash with tournament favorites Canada for a place in the quarterfinals.
The Copper Princesses reached the round of 16 for the first time in history after a dominant 4-0 win over New Zealand, advancing as one of the best third-placed teams.
Carol Kanyemba’s side, who lost their first two group matches 2-1 to Paraguay and 2-0 to Japan, are determined to upset the odds. However, Canada will be a formidable opponent, having thrashed Nigeria 4-1, dominated Samoa 6-0, and narrowly beaten France 2-1 in the group stage.
“Canada has been doing very fine in the group stages. Being a developmental tournament, I think it’s a very good test for our girls to see how we can be able to contain such a team and also penetrate their defense. So it will really be a good test for our girls,” said Zambia coach Kanyemba.
The winner of tonight’s match will face Brazil in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The Brazilians reached the last eight after a 3-0 win over China.
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