Zambia Under-17 Women’s National Team coach Carol Kanyemba has blamed a lack of composure, timid performances and poor decision-making after the Copper Princesses suffered a 5-0 defeat to Japan in their opening Group D match at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
The heavy loss at Mohammed VI Football Complex Pitch 2 in Rabat leaves Zambia needing a strong response in their remaining group fixtures. However, Kanyemba remains convinced that her young side has the quality to recover and fight for a place in the knockout stage.
Japan took control early, with Nanami Kurita opening the scoring in the ninth minute before Zambia’s Grace Phiri inadvertently turned the ball into her own net four minutes later to give the Asian side a 2-0 advantage.
The Copper Princesses struggled to contain Japan’s attacking threat after the break. Substitute Wara Shimizu extended the lead in the 72nd minute before Kurita completed her brace in the 88th minute. Asuka Tanaka added a fifth goal in stoppage time to seal a comprehensive victory for Japan.
Reflecting on the result, Kanyemba admitted that the margin of defeat was unexpected, pointing to a lack of confidence and composure as major factors behind Zambia’s struggles.
“Very bad results, unexpected. We lost with a lot of goals. That was due to the composure that we lacked as Zambia. Most of our girls were a bit timid and inferior in decision-making, in positioning, and that really affected us. So I think composure really played a very big role in getting these results,” Kanyemba said.
Despite the disappointing performance, the coach maintained that the technical bench had worked extensively on the team’s physical and tactical preparation. She believes the players must now strengthen their mentality, trust their abilities and approach the remaining matches with greater confidence.
“Working on the girls physically on the field, tactically, we’ve worked on them. They just need to build their strength, the mental strength, which we have been working on. They need to believe in themselves. They are good players, very good players. In fact, if they can believe that they can do it, we can definitely get out of this group,” she added.
With two group matches remaining, Kanyemba has urged her players to put the defeat behind them and concentrate on collecting maximum points against Venezuela and France. She stressed that Zambia’s campaign is not over and that the team must learn from the setback rather than allow it to undermine their confidence.
“Still winning is all part of the game, so we just have to make them understand that it’s part of the game and we can always come back from this. It’s not yet over until it’s over. We still have two games, three points, six points that we can get from them. Forget about this game and look forward to the next two games that are remaining,” she said.
The coach also appealed to Zambian supporters to continue backing the team as the technical bench works to develop the young players and help them respond positively to the disappointment.
“May they continue running behind us. We continue developing these girls. They are developing, and we’ll continue doing that as coaching staff,” Kanyemba said.
The Copper Princesses will face Venezuela on Wednesday before concluding their Group D campaign against France. Both fixtures will be crucial to their hopes of recovering from the opening defeat and challenging for a place in the knockout stage.
For Kanyemba and her players, the immediate priority is to rebuild confidence, improve decision-making and show greater composure under pressure. Although the opening result was damaging, Zambia still have an opportunity to respond, with the coach calling on her squad to demonstrate the belief and resilience needed to keep their World Cup campaign alive.
