Zambia secured their first Women’s World Cup win by edging out Costa Rica 3-1 in their final Group C match.
Lushomo Mweemba opened the scoring for Zambia inside the first three minutes and Barbra Banda added a second from the penalty spot midway through the first half. Her strike was the 1,000th goal in the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup
Costa Rica’s Melissa Herrera pulled a goal shortly after the break, but Racheal Kundananji completed the win, netting a third in injury time.
Both sides had already been eliminated after two matches.
In the other group C match, Japan showed why they are tournament favourites as they crushed Spain 4-0.
The 2011 world champions scored three times before half-time, with Hinata Miyazawa scoring two to take her tally to four goals and become the tournament’s leading scorer.
Riko Uek and substitute Mina Tanaka added to Spain’s pain with a goal each of their own.
Japan finishes top of Group C with a perfect score of 3 wins, 11 goals scored and none conceded, to end with 9 points, while Spain finish with 6 points, with both teams through to the Round of 16.
An interesting fact was that Japan’s win over Spain mirrors the 2-1 win Japan had over the same opponent at the men’s World Cup played last year; with Japan having the less ball possession in both matches.
