Published Monday, 31 July 2023
Captain of the Zambian women’s national team, Barbra Banda has etched her name into the rich history books of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Despite the group exit at the tournament currently taking place in New Zealand and Australia, the Copper Queens bowed out of the competition in style with a 3-1 victory over Costa Rica.
This was coupled with Banda scoring a historic 1000th goal of the FIFA Women’s World Cup which she scored when she converted a penalty in the 31st minute of the game in Hamilton.
The historic achievement by Banda comes 31 years (11 580 days) after China’s Ma Li first ever goal of the tournament in its inaugural edition back in 1991 against Norway.
Along with Morocco, who overcame South Korea 1-0 yesterday, this was Zambia’s first appearance at a FIFA Women’s World Cup™ finals and despite the early exit, the Copper Queens go home with their heads proudly held high.
Banda’s recent feat adds to her already existing accolades of records at the global stage.
The 23-year-old forward currently holds the record of being Africa’s top goalscorer in Olympic history with back-to-back hattricks at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics over the Netherlands and China.
Banda’s impressive performance in Tokyo also meant that she became the youngest player ever to score a hat-trick at the Olympics at age 21 at the time.
Zambia head back home with a wealth of experience, as the focus shifts to the upcoming TotalEnergies CAF Women’s African Cup of Nations, Morocco 2024 Qualifiers.
