Zambia target comeback victory against Venezuela at FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup

Zambia coach Carol Kanyemba believes her side can respond to their heavy opening defeat by securing maximum points against Venezuela in their second Group D match at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.

The Copper Princesses were beaten 5-0 by Japan on Sunday, while Venezuela began their campaign with a 2-0 loss to France.

Kanyemba says the defeat by Japan has not damaged her players’ belief and that the squad has been working to recover both mentally and physically before the meeting with Venezuela.

“Venezuela’s game – we know they also want a point. They lost to France, so they will be looking to get a point out of this. We are all looking to get a point out of this,” said Kanyemba.

“We have been encouraging the girls. A defeat in the tournament is not the end – that was a setback, but it should be a setup for our comeback. We are working on that mentally and physically.”

With both teams having lost their opening fixtures, the match offers Zambia an opportunity to put their first points on the board and revive their hopes in the group.

Kanyemba, who led the Copper Princesses to a historic third successive FIFA U17 World Cup appearance, says the team has identified several areas for improvement from the Japan match.

“This is our first session after the defeat, and we appreciate the support we have received,” she said.

“We know that we lost the game, but there have been a few positives that we have picked up and many lessons we learned from it. One of them is compactness; I think we are marking in isolation, and that’s why we are being displaced. So, we have been working on compactness.”

Zambia’s progress to the tournament’s knockout stages in the 2025 edition would represent another landmark achievement for the Southern African side. They exited the 2024 edition without securing a point, but have since made further history by reaching the finals for a third consecutive time.

Kanyemba believes victory against Venezuela is essential to their ambitions in Morocco.

The coach’s comments reflect the importance of the contest, with both sides seeking to recover after difficult starts. Zambia must now turn the lessons from their defeat by Japan into a stronger defensive performance and a result that would deliver the three points they consider crucial.