Zambia stun England rivals in World Cup send-off as clear warning sent
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is only a matter of weeks away and teams are ramping up their preparations before the tournament gets underway on July 20.
For Germany, who are second in FIFA's world rankings, their World Cup warm-up match saw them take on Zambia, who are ranked 77 in the world. Their final fixture on home soil, however, didn't quite go to plan for Martina Voss-Tecklenburg's side.
Germany reached the UEFA Women's Euro final last summer before they were narrowly beaten in extra-time by England and are still regarded as one of the best in the world. They're one of just two teams, along with the USA, to have won more than one World Cup, having won back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2007 - they're still a force to be reckoned with in the women's game.
On Friday evening they lined up against Zambia with close to a full-strength team. Alexandra Popp led the line with Lina Magull and Lena Oberdorf among those behind her.
It should've been a straightforward night for Popp and co, but Zambia, and indeed Barbra Banda, had other plans.
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It was 0-0 at the break as neither side were able to find a breakthrough. Yet, just minutes into the second half, the Zambia captain pounced.
Banda fired her team in front to finish off a well-worked move from the visitors and Racheal Kundananji extended Zambia's lead a few minutes later. Germany would fight back through Lea Schuller and Popp in stoppage time, but they weren't level for long.
In the 102nd minute, Banda struck once again as her pace saw her break through the German backline and latch onto a long ball. She fired an audacious chip over Merle Frohms to clinch a victory at the death for Zambia.
This isn't the first time the African nation has veered off script in recent weeks. Last month, in another World Cup warm-up match against fellow debutants the Republic of Ireland, they took the lead in the first half. Vera Pauw's side clawed their way back and secured a narrow 3-2 victory in the end, but Zambia once again showed their credentials.
Led by Banda, their captain is only 23, but she's already proving to be one to watch at this summer's tournament. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Zambia failed to make it out of their group but Banda still scored two hat-tricks in their matches against the Netherlands and China.
Zambia reached the semi-finals of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations last year, but just fell short as they were without Banda due to a row with the Football Association of Zambia over eligibility. With their star player back in the fray, they will enter this summer's World Cup ready to compete and the victory over Germany will only boost confidence for Bruce Mwape's side.
Kathrin Hendrich of Germany and Barbra Banda of Zambia battle for the ball during the Women's international friendly at Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer on July 7 (Photo by Roland Krivec/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)Of course, results in pre-World Cup warm-up matches are not decisive. With plenty of time before the tournament actually kicks off, a lot can still change and it won't impact Germany's preparation too much.
Zambia, though, face a difficult run of games in group C alongside Spain, Japan and Costa Rica. All three of their opponents are ranked significantly higher than them in the standings, Spain are sixth, Japan 11th and Costa Rica are 36th.
It will be no easy task but if recent results are anything to go by, Zambia are heading to this summer's tournament to compete. They'll hope to cause an upset and stun the world by making it out of what is an extremely difficult group.
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