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2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
Group C
Spain v Zambia
Eden Park
Auckland, New Zealand
Wednesday, 26 July 2023
Kick-off is at 09h30
Zambia will look to get their
2023 Women's World Cup campaign up and running when they lock horns with Spain at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday, July 26.
The Copper Queens were humbled on their tournament debut at the weekend after finding themselves on the receiving end of a 5-0 hammering by Japan, who played some scintillating football.
Bruce Mwape's side finished the game with 10 players after goalkeeper Catherine Musonda was sent off for a second bookable offence in stoppage time and she will be sorely missed against La Roja, having pulled off some fantastic saves on Saturday.
Shepolopolo recorded a few impressive results in the build-up to the global showpiece, narrowly losing 3-2 to Republic of Ireland and drawing 3-3 with Switzerland before pulling off a shock 3-2 win against Germany.
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Mwape admits they were made to pay dearly for their mistakes against the Nadeshiko, but is confident of getting a result in their second match to stay alive in Group C.
"We made a lot of mistakes but it is not the end of the world, we still have a chance. We are sure we can come back and fight for a place and qualify for the next round," he said.
"If we correct the negatives it will help us a going into the next game. Some say we might lose hope but we still want to fight and we want to leave a mark on the tournament."
Spain travelled to Australia and New Zealand under a cloud after 15 players made themselves unavailable for selection last year over their refusal to play under head coach Jorge Vilda.
Barcelona trio Aitana Bonmati, Mariona Caldentey and Ona Batlle have since gone back on their decision and were included in Vilda's World Cup squad.
The world's sixth-ranked team opened proceedings in Group C with a convincing 3-0 victory over Costa Rica on Friday, which saw Bonmatí (23') get her name on the scoresheet alongside Esther Gonzalez (27') after Valeria del Campo's own-goal gave them the lead on 21 minutes.
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It has been almost two years since La Roja faced African opponents and Vilda acknowledges Zambia will pose a different challenge.
"Happy to start a World Cup this way. We also had a clean sheet which was important," he said in the post-match press conference.
"We could have prevented some of their attacks, so in the next four days we will recover and prepare for the next match, which will be different."
With Grace Chanda having been ruled out on the eve of the tournament, Zambia will be banking on Barbra Banda once more to cause an upset against the Spaniards. The 23-year-old striker didn't have many opportunities in their group opener, but is capable of posing the opposition all sorts of problems with her power and pace if given the proper service.
Alexia Putellas was given a 13-minute cameo against Costa Rica as she continued to build up her fitness following a serious knee injury, which sidelined her out until April. The reigning two-time Ballon d'Or winner has been instructed by the medical staff to be eased back as she's yet to play a full match since returning to action and Vilda will look to get the best out of his star player while she's on the pitch.
Head-to-Head:
Matches - 0
Spain - 0
Zambia - 0
Draws - 0
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