Zambia celebrated their first victory in the FIFA Women's World Cup by defeating Costa Rica in their final Group C match on Monday.
According to reports, Lushomo Mweemba gave Zambia an early lead, finding the back of the net within the first three minutes of the game.
Zambia's captain, Barbra Banda, extended the team's lead by converting a penalty after her shirt was pulled by Katherine Alvarado inside the penalty area. This goal marked the 1,000th goal in the history of the Women's World Cup.
"I was confident, but at the same time I was nervous, but I just had to have courage because I was carrying thousands of people back home, so it was an honor for me," Banda said, referring to her penalty kick.
Costa Rica's Melissa Herrera managed to pull a goal back shortly after halftime, but Rachel Kundananji sealed the win for Zambia with a goal in injury time.
"We knew yesterday it was going to be an open match, a hard match, and those who made fewer mistakes won the match," Costa Rica's team coach Amelia Valverde stated.
Zambia finished in third place in Group C, ahead of Costa Rica, who finished fourth.
Both teams had already been eliminated from the tournament after their two previous matches.
Zambia suffered 5-0 defeats against both Japan and Spain in their earlier games.
However, their campaign concluded on a positive note with this victory.