Zambia Onto Their 3rd Goalkeeper in The World Cup.

The Zambian women’s football team are looking to their third choice of goalkeeper, Eunice Sakala, to represent the Copper Queens in the upcoming match against Spain.

the team’s original keeper, Hazel Nali, was unfortunately forced to drop out from competing only a few days before the World Cup started due to a torn ACL.

Nali’s injury was a great loss to the team, she has appeared internationally for Zambia 18 times and has been described as a “star” player.

Following Nali’s departure, the team’s relief goalkeeper Catherine Musonda replaced her in the queens’ first World Cup match against Japan. However, during this match Musonda received two yellow cards - which essentially equates to a red card and disqualification for the next game.

Musonda picked up her second yellow card after tripping up Japanese striker Riko Ueki. She was replaced by 21-year-old Sakala who made her international debut in the final minutes of the match.

The oppositions Sakala is facing in the World Cup are the hardest she has ever seen, her upcoming game against Spain will be a significantly more challenging match than those she typically plays in the lower-ranking Zambian Premier League.

The Copper Queens’ head coach Bruce Mwape confirmed on Tuesday that the team will “have Eunice as a replacement against Spain”. Although he hasn’t officially stated who will act as Sakala’s replacement, but fans believe that Leticia Lungu could be the potential 4th goalkeeper option, after the 18-year-old was called up to the national team after Nali was injured.

Mwape admitted that “There’s nothing that we can do apart from using the players that we’ve got” but assured the press that “There is also another (goalkeeper) who is on standby… She’ll be on the bench. If anything happens, we still have another goalkeeper to replace.”

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