Zambia, Costa Rica Become First Teams Eliminated at Women’s World Cup

Spain and Japan secured spots in the knockout stage while guaranteeing their Group C opponents an early exit.

Zambia and Costa Rica saw their hopes of advancing to the knockout stage end Wednesday, becoming the first teams to be eliminated from the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Costa Rica opened Wednesday’s slate of matches with a 2–0 loss to Japan after Hikaru Naomoto and Aoba Fujino scored twice in the span of two minutes, starting with Naomoto’s opening goal in the 25th minute. 

In the following game, Spain thrashed Zambia, 5–0, thanks to a ninth-minute goal from Teresa Abelleira and two goals apiece from Jennifer Hermoso and Alba Redondo.

The results also secured spots for Spain and Japan in the first-ever Women’s World Cup round of 16 after the tournament expanded to 32 teams this year. Each team currently sits on six points with only the Group C finale between the two sides left to determine the group winner (A draw would hand the group to Spain due to a superior goal differential.).

Both Costa Rica and Zambia will still have a chance to secure their first Women’s World Cup win when they face off on Monday. While it is Zambia’s first-ever World Cup appearance for either men or women national teams, Costa Rica last featured in the 2015 tournament, when it secured two draws. 

No team has conceded more goals at 2023 Women’s World Cup than Zambia after consecutive 5–0 defeats. The Shepolopoio are the fourth team in Women’s World Cup history to concede at least 10 goals in its first two matches.