Barbra Banda scored four goals as Zambia routed Egypt 6-0 in their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations opener on Tuesday, the biggest win in Copper Queens history. The Orlando Pride captain converted two penalties, headed in a cross and slotted a sixth from close range, turning a nervy 1-0 scoreline at the break into a rout.
The rout has a price tag attached. Banda and teammate Racheal Kundananji, who set up the sixth goal, are the two most expensive transfers in NWSL history, and Tuesday’s demolition looked like that money finally paying off in the shirt that matters most to both of them.
A Four-Goal Afternoon for Zambia’s Captain
Egypt goalkeeper and captain Maha Shehata kept the score respectable early. She saved a Banda shot from close range in the ninth minute and blocked another attempt soon after, then took a shoulder knock in an 18th-minute collision with the Zambia captain that left both players on the ground.
Zambia’s breakthrough came from the spot. Racheal Nachula sent Shehata the wrong way in the 25th minute after Amira Mohamed tugged Banda’s shirt inside the box. Zambia led 1-0 at halftime despite Banda missing three more chances against a stubborn Egyptian defense.
The second half belonged entirely to her. A VAR review confirmed a second Mohamed handball, and Banda buried the penalty in the 60th minute. Three minutes later she rose to head in a Prisca Chilufya cross, then completed her hat-trick in the 87th with a powerful finish across goal from a corner. She was named Woman of the Match.
| Minute | Scorer | How It Happened |
|---|---|---|
| 25′ | Racheal Nachula | Penalty after a shirt pull on Banda |
| 60′ | Barbra Banda | Penalty after a VAR-confirmed handball |
| 63′ | Barbra Banda | Header from a Prisca Chilufya cross |
| 87′ | Barbra Banda | Close-range finish off a corner |
| 90+3′ | Eneless Phiri | Long-range strike, assisted by Banda |
| 90+6′ | Barbra Banda | Near-post finish off a Kundananji cutback |
Substitute Eneless Phiri added a fifth in second-half stoppage time off a Banda assist. Banda then completed her haul in the 96th minute, slotting home a Kundananji cutback at the near post. Six goals, four of them hers, against a side that reached the WAFCON final as recently as 2022.
The NWSL’s Most Expensive Attack
What made the scoreline notable beyond the number itself was who produced it. Zambia’s front line features the two costliest transfers in NWSL history, both completed in the same month in 2024.
- Racheal Kundananji – Bay FC paid Real Madrid $788,000 for the Zambia forward in March 2024, the largest transfer fee in NWSL history at the time.
- Barbra Banda – Orlando Pride paid Chinese club Shanghai Shengli $740,000 the same month for Zambia’s captain, the second-largest fee on record, part of a four-year deal worth $2.1 million across four seasons.
- Tuesday’s box score – Kundananji supplied the cutback that set up Banda’s sixth goal, pairing the NWSL’s two most expensive signings on the same scoresheet for their country.
Forbes and Equalizer Soccer both flagged the fees as landmark deals for African women’s players when they closed, ahead of most transfers involving European or South American forwards. Two years on, both players anchor the attack that just produced the record win of their national team’s history.
How Did Zambia Get Here?
Zambia’s rout did not come from nowhere. The Copper Queens won bronze in 2022, reached the quarter-finals in 2024, then became the first team to punch its ticket to Morocco during qualifying, arriving with the tournament’s two costliest attacking transfers already on the roster.
- 2022: Zambia beats Nigeria for the WAFCON bronze medal under the late Bruce Mwape.
- 2024: Zambia’s campaign ends in the quarter-finals against Nigeria.
- Qualifying: Zambia becomes the first team to clinch a place in Morocco, closing out the campaign with a dominant win over Namibia for a fifth WAFCON appearance.
- July 28: Zambia beats Egypt 6-0, the biggest win in the program’s WAFCON history.
Banda has been candid about what she wants from the tournament. The World Cup ticket comes first, she told Sports247 Nigeria ahead of the tournament, the trophy second, a reminder that WAFCON has long doubled as part of Africa’s qualifying route to the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria’s Shock Loss Reshapes Group C
Zambia’s win took on extra weight hours later. Defending champions Nigeria lost 3-2 to debutants Malawi in the same group, with Temwa Chawinga scoring twice, including a 95th-minute strike, and her sister Tabitha Chawinga adding another before Nigeria captain Rasheedat Ajibade’s late penalty made the final score respectable.
| Team | Result | Points | Goal Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zambia | Beat Egypt 6-0 | 3 | +6 |
| Malawi | Beat Nigeria 3-2 | 3 | +1 |
| Nigeria | Lost to Malawi 2-3 | 0 | -1 |
| Egypt | Lost to Zambia 0-6 | 0 | -6 |
Zambia now leads Group C outright on goal difference, six clear of the next team down, while the tournament’s most decorated side sits winless after round one. Zambia faces Nigeria next, on August 1, with Egypt and Malawi meeting the same evening.
I feel like, as a team, we just need to pull up our socks and maybe probably win this WAFCON for everyone.
Banda said that to Zambian outlet Mwebantu before the tournament began. Tuesday’s four goals, and the chaos elsewhere in the group, gave that ambition a considerably clearer runway.
Egypt Left to Rebuild Under Shehata’s Shadow
Egypt’s night carried its own toll. Thoraya Ashraf was carried off on a stretcher in tears during the first penalty incident, and Shehata appeared to take another knock while making back-to-back saves late in the second half, denying both Nachula and Phiri before finally beaten twice more.
South African broadcaster EWN previewed the match as a return to the tournament for the Cleopatras, and Tuesday’s result leaves that comeback in immediate trouble. CAF’s own preview had billed the Copper Queens’ experience against the Cleopatras’ ambition, and experience won by six goals.
The two federations otherwise get along well off the pitch, in what has been described as an enduring win-win relationship between the countries. None of that softened Tuesday’s scoreline. Egypt must beat Malawi on August 1 and hope for help elsewhere just to keep its own WAFCON alive into the final round.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is WAFCON and where is the 2026 tournament being played?
The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations is the Confederation of African Football’s biennial continental championship for women’s national teams. The 2026 edition is hosted by Morocco from July 26 to August 16, with Group C matches split between Casablanca and Rabat.
Why did Nigeria lose to Malawi at WAFCON 2026?
Debutants Malawi stunned the defending champions 3-2. Temwa Chawinga scored twice, including a 95th-minute goal, and her sister Tabitha Chawinga added another before Nigeria pulled back through a late Rasheedat Ajibade penalty and a stoppage-time goal from Uchenna Kanu.
Why are Zambia’s women called the Copper Queens?
The nickname reflects Zambia’s identity as one of Africa’s largest copper producers, echoing the men’s team nickname Chipolopolo, meaning copper bullets. It has stuck through the women’s program’s rise over the past two WAFCON cycles.
Does WAFCON 2026 double as World Cup qualifying?
Banda has treated it that way publicly. WAFCON has long served as part of Africa’s qualifying pathway to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which is why she has said reaching the next tournament matters to her more than the WAFCON trophy itself.
Zambia’s next test comes August 1 against the same team that ended its 2024 campaign in the quarter-finals, Nigeria, only this time the Super Falcons arrive already wounded.
