Zambia has been eliminated from the race to the 2026 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup after suffering a 1–0 defeat to Uganda in Ndola, bowing out with a 2–1 aggregate loss on Saturday at the Levy Mwanawansa Stadium.
Following a 1–1 draw in Uganda, which saw the Zambian girls come from behind to equalize, Florence Mwila’s side were hoping to use home-ground advantage to secure a victory and advance to the final round of the qualifiers. However, that dream was cut short very early in the game through Mary Kantono, who scored the winner in the 7th minute.
After the game, head coach Mwila stated that, “for every normal person, this is not a good feeling. But it is a learning curve.”
“A few lapses here and there, but with so much improvement from the game in Uganda. Reaching this far shows that there’s light at the end of the tunnel because we usually get knocked out in the early stages,” Mwila added.
Her Ugandan counterpart, coach Sheryl Botes, whose team will face Ghana in the final round, said, “We came with a plan to win and we did. But it was against a formidable side. We knew they were going to play long balls. We planned for that.”
Four African nations will qualify for the World Cup, which is set to run from 5–27 September 2026 in Poland.
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