Connect with us

Sports

Copper Queens of Zambia win first ever game at World Cup; beats Costa Rica 3-1.

Published

on

Spread the love

Debutante African representative the Copper Queens of Zambia shocked Costa Rica 3-1 to earn her first win ever in the Women’s World Cup as both teams clashed at the FMG Stadium, Waikato in Group C.

Zambia team jubilating

Green Buffaloes player, Lushomo Mweemba scored 3rd minute with a volley from a Chitundu corner kick to send unheeded warning signals to the Costa Ricans. Irrepressible Barbra Banda was brought down in the penalty box by Alvarado and the Ref pointed to the spot which Banda scored at the 31st minute for goal number 2.

 

Girondi of France player, Dephine Monga retrieved a goal in the 47th minute from a Coto’s header in the box with a stunning shot at goal.

 

There was a stumping clash between Chunchilla and Goalkeeper Musonda of Zambia which left Musonda on the turf in pains but in the 58th minute but a VAR review said no penalty to Costa Rica.

 

Madrid CFF player, Rachael Kundennanji who loves scoring late goals got a Banda connect to put icing on the cake of victory at 90+3 minute for goal number 3. She scored against the German Machine in the 90th minute.

 

Spain thrashed Costa Rica 3-0 and Zambia fell to Japan 0-5 in the group first round; Japan slammed Costa Rica 2-0 and Spain walloped Zambia 5-0 in the second round.

 

Japan humbled Spain in the last match of the 3rd round 4-0. The two teams Zambia and Costa Rica are out of the world cup.

 

Japan thus tops Group C winning all three matches scoring 11 goals with a clean sheet (no goal conceded); Spain is 2nd with two wins earning 6 points and a lose scoring 8 goals and conceding 4; Zambia is 3rd with a win and two loses earning 3 points, scoring 3 goals and conceding 11 goals while Costa Rica rocks the bottom of the table going out with Zambia as the team lost all their matches with no point, scored one goal and conceded 8.

 

Spain will meet Group A winners, Switzerland in the Round of 16 on Saturday 5th August at 0600 hours while Japan meets Group A runners-up Norway at 0900 hours still on Saturday 5th August.

 

To determine the two teams that will move to the Round of 16 in Group B, Nigeria will meet Republic of Ireland at 1100 hours at the Suncorp Stadium while at the same time, hosts Australia will contest for survival against Canada at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium later today.

 

Tomorrow Tuesday 1st August, group E matches will be concluded at 0800 hours as Vietnam meets Netherlands at Forsyth Barr Stadium and Portugal try the Yankees of USA at Eden Park.

 

Group D matches will also be decided same tomorrow at 12 noon as the Lionesses of England tackles China at Hindmarsh Stadium and Haiti faces Denmark at NIB Stadium.

 

 

By Eniola Olatunji

Sports

Barcelona Scores 31 Goals In Season’s First 7 La Liga Rounds, Second Only To Sevilla’s 1940/41 Record

Published

on

Spread the love

 

In a La Liga Matchday 7 fixture, Barcelona defeated Sevilla 3-1 away from home.

 

Following this match, Barcelona remains firmly at the top of the La Liga standings with a perfect record of seven wins from seven games. In these matches, they have been prolific, scoring an impressive 31 goals.

In the history of La Liga, only one team has scored more goals than Barcelona after the first seven rounds: Sevilla, the same team Barcelona defeated on Saturday, who scored 40 goals in the first seven games of the 1940/41 season.

It is worth noting that in that season, Sevilla defeated Barcelona 11-1 in the opening match of the league.

Continue Reading

Sports

Napoli Sign Nigerian Defender

Published

on

Spread the love

 

Napoli Women have officially completed the signing of Nigeria international defender Chidinma Okeke from Mexican club América Femenil.

 

The 26-year-old centre-back joined Napoli Women on a permanent transfer on Friday, September 18, and signed a two-year contract that will keep her at the Italian club until 2028.

Okeke arrives in Italy after two seasons with América, where she helped the Mexican club win the 2025/26 CONCACAF Champions Cup. She played 27 Liga MX Femenil matches during the 2025/26 season and also featured in seven Champions Cup games.

Her move to Napoli adds another European chapter to a career that has already taken her through Nigeria, Spain, Japan and Mexico. She joined Madrid CFF in 2019 after playing for Robo Queens in Nigeria, then moved to Mynavi Sendai before signing for América in August 2024.

The Nigerian defender can play at centre-back and also operate at full-back, giving Napoli another option in defence as they prepare for the new Serie A Women season.

Okeke has also built significant experience with Nigeria. She played at the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup before featuring for the Super Falcons at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Her first competitive challenge with Napoli could come on September 26, when they open their 2026/27 Serie A Women campaign away to Juventus at Biella. The match is scheduled for 12:30pm local time in Italy, or 11:30am Nigerian time.

Napoli finished seventh in the 2025/26 Serie A Women standings, while the new season features 12 teams, with the top three earning places in the UEFA Women’s Champions League and the bottom side dropping into Serie B.

Okeke said she was pleased with her first days in Naples after meeting the coach, staff and new teammates, adding that her goal is to give her best alongside the team.

Continue Reading

Sports

Arteta: Brighton Defeat Taught Us An Important Lesson

Published

on

Spread the love

 

In Premier League Matchday 5 fixture, Arsenal suffered a 0-3 away defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. After the match, Arteta shared his thoughts on the game.

 

“Brighton & Hove Albion deserved the win. For large periods, especially in the first half, our fundamentals weren’t good enough. We didn’t win enough duels, and we didn’t win enough second balls, which made us struggle.”

“We made many mistakes, particularly against a team that likes to press high. We didn’t apply the defensive principles we should have, so we were constantly under pressure and couldn’t get out of difficult situations as we usually do. There’s a lot to learn from this, but ultimately, it’s disappointing.”

Was it surprising that a solution wasn’t found today?
“There are two points. First, credit to them for their style of play and their commitment in every action. We fell below our expected standards, even by Premier League levels. When we miss opportunities like we did today, everything becomes impossible.”

“I want to congratulate Brighton & Hove Albion on their performance. This is an important lesson for us. If I were to evaluate the team’s performance and competitiveness over the past six or seven weeks, it has been as expected, but today’s match taught us a profound lesson.”

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2026 TheColumn NG