U-17 Women’s World Cup: Kanyemba admits Zambia in ‘a very tricky group’

Photo Credit - Football Association of Zambia (FAZ).

Zambian national women’s Copper Princesses head coach Carol Kanyemba has described the team’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2025 group as tricky.

According to the draws conducted in Rabat, Morocco on Thursday, the group stage sets up a familiar test for Zambia in Group F, who will meet Japan, the team that defeated them 4-1 in the previous edition of the tournament, alongside New Zealand and Paraguay.

“It’s a very tricky group with Japan, New Zealand and Paraguay. We meet Japan for the second time, not an easy feat; we were praying not to meet them because they gave us a tough time last time,” Kanyemba said.

“Meeting Japan for the second time is not really child's play but they gave us a good test and we had a good run. I bet some of the girls that we came with at the World Cup last year are very positive and they want to do something better.

“We had our first outing last year which wasn't good enough, but regardless of the teams that have been placed in our team, we want to do the best and we want to work hard. As coaches, it's a lot of work and as I said earlier on, our video analyst jobs and our job as coaches start now.”

The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will be held from 17 October to 8 November 2025, with all matches played in Rabat, marking the first time the tournament is hosted on African soil.

This year’s edition marks a historic milestone as the first-ever U-17 Women’s World Cup to be held on African soil, and the first to feature an expanded 24-team format.