Copper Princesses Draw Japan, France & Venezuela in FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2026 Group D

🇿🇲 Zambia’s Copper Princesses have discovered their opponents for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco after being placed in Group D alongside Japan, Venezuela and France.

The tournament will take place in Morocco from 17 October to 7 November 2026, marking the 10th edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. The competition will feature 24 teams for the second time after expanding from 16 teams, with Morocco hosting five consecutive editions from 2025 to 2029.

The Copper Princesses booked their place at the global tournament after a determined qualifying campaign that saw them overcome Ethiopia in the final qualifying round.

Zambia secured qualification following a 1-1 draw against Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, progressing 3-2 on aggregate to seal a historic third consecutive FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup appearance.

Playing at the Abebe Bikila Stadium, Zambia showed great resilience under pressure. Precious Mwewa scored in the 46th minute to give the Copper Princesses a crucial advantage before Ethiopia equalised late through Mihiret Ayele Abebe in the 88th minute. However, Zambia held firm to complete the job and secure qualification.

The achievement continues the remarkable rise of Zambia’s youth women’s football programme under coach Carol Kanyemba Daka, with the Copper Princesses having featured at the tournament since making their debut in 2014.

🇿🇲 Zambia’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2026 Group D Fixtures

🗓️ 18 October 2026
🆚 🇯🇵 Japan U-17 Women
⏰ 16:00 Zambian Time

🗓️ 21 October 2026
🆚 🇻🇪 Venezuela U-17 Women
⏰ 19:00 Zambian Time

🗓️ 24 October 2026
🆚 🇫🇷 France U-17 Women
⏰ 19:00 Zambian Time

The Copper Princesses will now turn their focus to preparing for another historic World Cup campaign as they aim to make Zambia proud on the global stage. 🇿🇲🌍🏆