Wednesday Jul 31, 2024. 21:04
Zambia have been eliminated from the women’s football tournament at the 2024 Olympic Games after suffering a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Germany at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne on Wednesday evening.
The Copper Queens entered the match with a slim chance of advancing into the quarterfinals, but this defeat leaves them at the bottom of Group B with zero points. Germany, meanwhile, joined the United States in advancing from the group into the quarterfinals.
Germany bossed the game from the outset and claimed the lead in the 10th minute, with Lea Schuller finishing off Klara Buhl’s defence-splitting pass.
Zambia offered a sporadic threat in response, coming closest to an equaliser on the half-hour mark when Rachael Kundananji struck a low shot on target but was denied by a save from goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger.
Buhl doubled Germany’s lead three minutes into the second half, providing a classy right-footed finish which nestled in the bottom corner of the net.
The Copper Queens pulled a goal back in the 50th minute, as Barbra Banda latched onto a poor pass out from Berger and lofted a shot into the net.
However, the combination of Schuller and Buhl made it 3-1 for Germany just past the hour mark, with the former finishing off the latter’s low cross from the left.
And Germany rounded off the scoring deep in injury time at the end of the when substitute Elisa Senss latched onto a loose ball from a corner kick and volleyed home for a 4-1 score line.
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