After Lushomo Mweemba opened the scoring in the 3rd minute, Zambia took control of the match.
Both teams knew that even a win today wasn’t going to get them through to the knockouts, but for Zambia, they will leave the tournament knowing they have their first ever win in a World Cup.
It didn’t take long to get the first goal of the game, a cross came in from Avell Chitundu and was connected well by Mweemba in the 6-yard box to make it 1-0 to Zambia after 3 minutes.
After continuous pressure from Zambia it led to a scramble in the box which ended up in a penalty for Zambia. Their captain, Barbra Banda, steps up in the 29th minute and powerfully placed it to the bottom left to make it 2-0.
Throughout the half, Zambia had the majority of the ball, but Costa Rica did start to get into it near the end but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Half Time Zambia 2-0 Costa Rica
It took 2 minutes into the second half for Costa Rica to get their goal. After the goalkeeper and defender had a mix up the ball found its way to Daphne Herrera were she only had to tap it in. Not long after, Herrera thought she had her second goal of the match with a lovely finish across goal with her left foot, but the offside flag came up.
Zambia did manage to get their 3rd through a fast break where Banda played it beautifully to Racheal Kundananji and she calmly played it pass the goalkeeper to score.
The South American side have more of the possession and chances in the second half but couldn’t get that crucial goal to equalise against the Zambian’s.
For both sides they knew a win wouldn’t have been enough to qualify for the knockouts but after their effort and quality they will leave the tournament on a high.
Full Time Zambia 3-1 Costa Rica
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