Zambia Women’s U17 National Team head coach Carol Kanyemba believes the Copper Princesses can revive their FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup campaign when they face Venezuela in a crucial Group D encounter on Wednesday.
The match, scheduled for 20:00 CAT, presents Zambia with an important opportunity to recover from their opening defeat and strengthen their chances of progressing to the Round of 16. Kanyemba says her technical bench has been working on both the tactical and mental aspects of the team’s preparation, with particular emphasis on defensive compactness and the players’ attitude going into the match.
Reflecting on the opening fixture, Kanyemba acknowledged that the team had learned valuable lessons despite the disappointing result. She explained that Zambia’s players had sometimes become too disconnected on the pitch, making it easier for their opponents to exploit spaces.
“We appreciate every support that we received. We know that we lost the game, but there were a few positives that were picked and a lot of lessons learned,” Kanyemba said. “One of them was compactness; I think we were working in isolation, which is why we were being displaced a lot. So, we’ve been working on compactness going into the Venezuela game.”
The coach has also urged her players to put the opening defeat behind them and approach the next fixture with renewed confidence. With Venezuela also seeking its first points following a defeat to France, Kanyemba views the encounter as an opportunity for Zambia to regain momentum and keep their qualification ambitions alive.
“We’ve been encouraging the girls that a defeat in the tournament is not the end of the tournament. That was a setback, but it should be a setup for our comeback,” she said. “Mentally and physically, we are teaching our girls to have the right attitude toward the game—forget about the defeat, look at the next match as a new game altogether, and treat it as an opportunity for us to progress from the group stage.”
Kanyemba also highlighted the differences between Japan, Zambia’s opening opponents, and Venezuela, explaining that the two sides present contrasting challenges. While Japan tested the Copper Princesses with its technical and tactical quality, she expects Venezuela to bring a more physical approach, which she believes Zambia can match.
“Japan was very tactically and technically good, whereas Venezuela plays a physical game. We play almost the same game as African football,” Kanyemba explained. “We are telling the girls that regardless of the complexion, we are almost the same—we are all physical, we can all run, and we can all chase that ball. The only difference between us and the winners will be the attitude we go in with.”
The Zambia coach is convinced that securing maximum points on Wednesday would significantly improve her side’s prospects of advancing from Group D. She stressed that the opening result should not define the team’s overall tournament ambitions, urging the players to seize the opportunity presented by the Venezuela encounter.
“Three points from this game will help us leave this group stage and progress to the knockout stage. The first game shouldn’t be the determinant of how far we can go—tomorrow’s game against Venezuela is the one to help us get maximum points so we stand a better chance of qualifying,” Kanyemba said.
With defensive organisation, mental strength and the right attitude among the key priorities, the Copper Princesses will look to turn the lessons from their opening match into a stronger performance against Venezuela. For Kanyemba, the objective is clear: respond to the setback, compete with greater unity and give Zambia a stronger chance of reaching the knockout stage.
