Carol Kanyemba had asked her under-17s to turn the 5–0 defeat by Japan into a comeback against Venezuela. For 99 minutes on Wednesday 21 October they very nearly did. Elizabeth Mofya scored in the fourth minute, Venezuela’s Ariana Ojeda levelled on 13 minutes, Grace Phiri restored Zambia’s lead early in the second half, Orliany Durán equalised again after the hour — and then, with the tenth added minute almost gone, Andrea Suárez struck the winner. Venezuela 3, Zambia 2, Africa Top Sports and CONMEBOL report; ESPN lists the venue as Salé, beside the capital Rabat.
CONMEBOL notes that the Suárez goal, timed at 99 minutes 41 seconds, was the second-latest in the last five editions of the tournament, and that Venezuela remain unbeaten against African sides at this level, having now beaten Zambia twice and Cameroon once. It was the first time this year Venezuela had come from behind to win.
Where that leaves Group D
Japan, who have won both their matches, lead the group on six points; France and Venezuela have three each; Zambia have none, with a goal difference of minus six, according to the standings carried by ESPN. The final round is on Saturday 24 October, when Zambia play France and Venezuela play Japan. The top two in each of the six groups go through to the round of 16 with the four best third-placed teams, so the Princesses are not yet mathematically out, but they would need a win and a favourable set of results elsewhere.
Before the match Ms Kanyemba told reporters that the lesson of the Japan game was compactness — “we were marking in isolation” — and that “defeat in the tournament is not the end of the tournament”, ZamFoot reports. No post-match comments from the Zambian camp had been published at the time of writing.
Arrows in Durban on Friday
Red Arrows carry a 1–0 lead from Ndola into the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup qualifier against Kaizer Chiefs on Friday 23 October at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, kick-off 18:00. Alassane Diarra’s header from a corner, shortly after Chiefs’ 71st-minute substitutions at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium on Saturday 17 October, decided the first leg, AfricaSoccer reports. The winners over two legs reach the group stage, where CAF’s minimum prize money is US$400,000 and the matches run from 27 November to 24 January, according to the same site, which also notes that Arrows played in Ndola because Nkoloma Stadium does not meet CAF requirements.
Sources: Africa Top Sports, “FIFA U-17 WWC: Venezuela Beat Zambia 3-2” (21 Oct 2026); CONMEBOL, “Remontada y victoria de Venezuela en la Segunda Fecha del Mundial Femenino Sub17” (21 Oct 2026); ESPN, “Venezuela 3-2 Zambia (Oct 21, 2026) Final Score” (21 Oct 2026); ZamFoot, “Kanyemba urges Zambia to turn Japan defeat into Venezuela comeback” (21 Oct 2026); Mr Football aka Soccer, “U-17 Women’s World Cup 2026 Group Tables, Standings and Fixtures” (21 Oct 2026); AfricaSoccer, “Kaizer Chiefs beaten by Red Arrows to face uphill Confederation Cup task” (17 Oct 2026); AfricaSoccer, “Kaizer Chiefs confirm Moses Mabhida Stadium for R6.6m Confederation Cup tie” (6 Oct 2026).