Barbra Banda scored four times as Zambia thrashed Egypt 6-0 in their opening Group C match at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
The captain led from the front in a one-sided contest, converting a second-half penalty before adding three more goals as the Copper Queens recorded the biggest WAFCON victory in their history.
Rachael Nachula opened the scoring from the spot midway through the first half, with Enalisi Phiri also on target late on as Zambia overwhelmed an Egypt side returning to the tournament after almost a decade away.
Zambia, whose greater experience and cohesion were evident from the outset, dominated from the first whistle and quickly forced Egypt onto the back foot.
Egypt, making only their third appearance at the finals after previous outings in 1998 and 2016, initially managed to withstand the pressure, but the breakthrough arrived on 25 minutes when Zambia were awarded a penalty. Nachula held her nerve to convert and give Bruce Mwape’s team a deserved lead.
The Cleopatras responded by tightening up defensively, limiting further damage before the interval despite Zambia continuing to control possession and territory.
Egypt re-emerged for the second half with improved organisation and composure, but their resilience was undone on the hour mark by another mistake in the penalty area. A second spot-kick was awarded and this time Banda stepped up, calmly making it 2-0.
Barely three minutes later, the forward struck again, adding Zambia’s third to effectively end the contest and underline the gulf between the sides.
Zambia continued to push in the closing stages and were rewarded with a late flurry of goals. Banda completed her hat-trick in the 87th minute before Phiri struck four minutes from time to make it 5-0.
Deep into stoppage time, Banda added a fourth personal goal and Zambia’s sixth, rounding off a remarkable individual display and sealing a statement win to start their campaign.
Her four-goal performance earned her the Player of the Match award at full-time.
The result puts Zambia top of Group C on goal difference, at least temporarily, in a section that also includes defending champions Nigeria and tournament debutants Malawi.
This is the third successive WAFCON in which Zambia have started against North African opposition. They edged Tunisia 1-0 in 2022, drew 2-2 with hosts Morocco in 2024, and have now produced a resounding scoreline against Egypt to begin their 2026 campaign.
