Zambia earns first Women's World Cup win with 3-1 victory over Costa Rica
— Lushomo Mweemba scored the fastest goal at this year’s Women’s World Cup, and Barbra Banda added the 1,000th goal in tournament history, as tournament newcomer Zambia earned its first ever win with a 3-1 victory Costa Rica on Monday.
The victory sent Zambia home from its first World Cup on an emotional high. Both teams had already been eliminated from the knockout stage before the match.
The Copper Queens’ opening goal, they wasted no time against Costa Rica, scoring its first-ever tournament goal, came after just 2 minutes and 11 seconds off Avell Chitundu’s corner kick. Mweemba lofted a volley into the roof of the net over goalkeeper Daniela Solera.
Banda scored the milestone goal in the 31st minute on a penalty kick. The referee gave the penalty after the 23-year-old striker appeared to be taken down in the box by Katherine Alvarado.
The referee handed out five yellow cards and called a total of 30 fouls in the fast-paced match.
In the 47th minute, Melissa Herrera knocked a cross over the line with her chest for Costa Rica’s lone goal. Costa Rica later saw both a potential penalty and a goal taken away by offsides calls.
WHAT’S NEXT
Zambia's next match is scheduled for Oct. 23 against Mali in the second round of Olympic qualifiers.
Costa Rica bounces out of its second Women’s World Cup in fourth place in the group.
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apnews.com
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