The U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team opens its journey at the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 25, squaring off against Zambia in Group B play at Stade de Nice in Nice, France. The Olympic opener will be the first-ever meeting between the USA and Zambia with kickoff in the south of France at 9 p.m. local / 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, Universo and Peacock.
Get ready for the Summer Games to begin with Five Things to Know about USA vs. Zambia.
PATHWAY TO PARIS
The 12th and final team to secure its spot in the field for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Zambia qualified for the Paris Games by defeating Morrocco 3-2 on aggregate in a two-leg playoff during the April international window earlier this spring in the fourth round of the 2024 CAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Zambia got a bye in the first round of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament and advanced through the second round without playing a match as Mali withdrew. The Copper Queens then downed Ghana 4-3 on aggregate in the third round, winning 1-0 in Accra, Ghana and drawing 3-3 in Ndola, Zambia. Racheal Kundananji scored in the first leg for Zambia and Barbra Banda had two goals in the second, setting up the all-important matchup against Morrocco in the fourth round.
The Copper Queens suffered a setback in the opening leg in Ndola, the third-largest city in Zambia, falling to Morrocco 2-1 on a game winner from the visitors in the 90+4th minute.
However, Zambia turned the tides – and punched its ticket to Paris – with a 2-0 win in extra time in the second leg on the road in Rabat. Superstar forward Banda gave Zambia a 1-0 lead in the 38th minute, breaking in behind the Moroccan defense and finishing one-on-one with the goalkeeper to draw Zambia level on aggregate. With the teams still knotted at 2-2 at the end of regulation, the match went to extra time to decide who would be the second representative from Africa at this year’s Olympics. In extra time, Banda once again proved up to the task, converting a penalty kick in the 105+2nd minute follow a handball by Morocco in the penalty area. Zambia saw out the 2-0 scoreline through the final 15 minutes of overtime to win the series 3-2 on aggregate and advance to its second-ever Olympics.
COPPER QUEENS RETURN TO WORLD STAGE
The 2024 Olympics mark the second Olympics and third consecutive world championship appearance for Zambia, a streak that began with the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and continued with the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. While Zambia did not advance out of the group in either tournament, both competitions were memorable affairs for the Copper Queens.
In 2021, Zambia opened the Tokyo Games with a 10-3 loss to the Netherlands, a remarkable scoreline that set a record for the most combined goals in a match in women’s Olympic soccer history. Banda burst onto the international scene that match, scoring all three goals for Zambia as she netted her first of two hat-tricks that tournament. The standout forward scored three goals again in the second Group F match against China PR, but penalty kick by China in the 84th minute leveled the score at 4-4 and denied Zambia its first ever win at the Olympics. The Copper Queens were held scoreless in the third and final group stage match, falling to Brazil 1-0 to go out of the tournament.
At the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which marked the nation’s first-ever World Cup appearance, Zambia was drawn into a challenging Group C with Japan, Costa Rica and eventual champions Spain. Zambia opened the tournament with back-to-back 5-0 losses to Japan and Spain but rebounded to beat Costa Rica 3-1 in the final group stage match for its first World Cup win. Banda, Kundananji and defender Lushomo Mweemba all scored for Zambia in the victory.
BANDA TAKING NWSL BY STORM
While the Tokyo Olympics were Banda’s coming out part on the international stage, her profile has skyrocketed in the United States in recent months due to her stellar play with the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League. The 24-year-old Banda, who had a brief stint as a professional boxer before focusing on soccer, signed with the Pride on March 7, 2024, for a reported transfer fee of $740,000 from Chinese Women’s Super League side Shanghai Shengli.
Banda has quickly proven her worth, scoring 12 goals in 12 games since making her NWSL debut on April 19. Her 12 goals are tied with Malawi international Temwa Chawinga for the most in the league this season and she is averaging a goal every 76.5 minutes of NWSL play. Banda, who was named the NWSL Player of the Month for May, also has five assists on the season and has the Orlando Pride sitting atop the league standings entering the Olympics, boasting an unbeaten record of 11W-0L-5D. She enters the Olympics having scored in each of her last three outings for the Pride, tallying four goals and two assists during that stretch.
Banda captained Zambia at the 2023 Women’s World Cup and, in 2018, became the first female Zambian soccer player to sign for a European club when she joined EDF Logrono in Spain’s First Division.
INSIDE THE ROSTER: ZAMBIA
Banda is one of three players on Zambia’s Olympic roster with ties to the United States and the NWSL. Forward Racheal Kundananji, who represented Zambia at both the Tokyo Olympics and 2023 World Cup, signed with expansion side Bay FC in February 2024 for a reported transfer fee of $788,000. Kundananji has two goals and one assist in 12 matches so far for Bay FC this season and became the first Zambian to both score and play in an NWSL match when she scored in her Bay FC debut on March 31. The 24-year-old joined the NWSL from Madrid CFF in Spain, where she scored 25 goals during the 2022-23 Liga F campaign, good for second in the league.
Midfielder Grace Chanda is set to join Banda in Orlando following the Olympics, signing with the club in late May. Chanda most recently played with Kundananji at Madrid CFF and was one of three players shortlisted for African Women's Footballer of the Year in 2022. The 27-year-old was the top scorer for Zambia during 2020 CAF Women’s Olympic qualifying and also helped Zambia qualify for the 2023 World Cup, though she missed the tournament due to illness.
Five of the other 18 players on this Olympic roster play abroad for clubs in Israel, Kazakhstan and Turkey while the remaining 10 players compete domestically in Zambia, including five players with Green Buffaloes FC, the four-time defending Super Division champions.
ZAMBIA OLYMPIC WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Catherine Musonda (Hapoel Ra'anana AFC, ISR), 18-Ng'ambo Musole (Green Buffaloes FC)
DEFENDERS (6): 2-Diana Banda (Green Buffaloes FC), 3-Lushomo Mweemba (Green Buffaloes FC), 4-Esther Siamfuko (Green Buffaloes FC), 5-Pauline Zulu (Elite LFC), 13-Martha Tembo (BIIK Kazygurt, KAZ), 16-Esther Muching (Zanaco FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7): 6-Rhoda Chileshe (Indeni Roses FC), 7-Chisha Rachael Misozi Zulu (Hakkarigücü Spor, TUR), 8-Ochumba Oseke Lubandji (Red Arrows FC), 10-Grace Chanda (Orlando Pride, USA), 12-Avell Chitundu (ZESCO United FC), 14-Prisca Chilufya (BIIK Kazygurt , KAZ), 17-Racheal Kundananji (Bay FC, USA)
FORWARDS (3): 9-Kabange Mupopo (Green Buffaloes FC), 11-Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride, USA), 15-Hellen Nga'ndwe Chanda (BIIK Kazygurt, KAZ)
ALTERNATES (4): 19-Vast Phiri (ZESCO United FC), 20-Racheal Nachula (Zaragoza CFF, ESP), 21-Mary Wilombe (Red Arrows FC), 22-Eunice Sakala (Nkwazi Queens FC)
INSIDE THE SERIES: USA vs. ZAMBIA
The Olympic opener in Nice will be the first meeting all-time between the USWNT and Zambia, making the Copper Queens the 58th different opponent in U.S. Women’s National Team history. Zambia will be the sixth opponent the USWNT will face for the first time ever at a world championship, doing so most recently at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup where the USA defeated Vietnam 3-0 to open the tournament.
This will be just the USA’s 13th match ever against an African opponent, facing Nigeria nine times – four of those matches coming in world championships – and playing South Africa on four times in friendlies.