Barbra Banda scores 4 as Zambia crush Egypt in the WAFCON 2026

Captain Barbra Banda produced a sensational performance as Zambia kicked off their TotalEnergies CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Morocco 2026 campaign with a ruthless 6-0 victory over Egypt at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat on Tuesday.

The prolific striker was directly involved in five of Zambia's six goals, netting four times and providing an assist to inspire the Copper Queens to the top of Group C with an emphatic opening-day win.

Zambia wasted little time asserting their dominance. Banda nearly opened the scoring in the eighth minute, but Egypt's goalkeeper reacted quickly to rush off her line and deny the forward.

Egypt showed brief signs of attacking intent six minutes later when Nadin Ghazy unleashed a long-range effort, but goalkeeper Natasha Nali was alert to make a comfortable save.

The Copper Queens continued to pile on the pressure and came close again in the 22nd minute as Racheal Kundananji's header drifted narrowly wide with the goalkeeper beaten.

Their breakthrough soon arrived after Banda was fouled inside the penalty area. Nachula confidently converted the resulting penalty to hand Zambia a deserved 1-0 lead before halftime.

After the restart, Zambia maintained their attacking momentum. Margaret Belemu nearly doubled the advantage in the 53rd minute, but her powerful effort was well saved after creating space inside the box.

Five minutes later, VAR awarded Zambia a second penalty after Prisca Chilufya's cross struck the hand of Amira Mohamed inside the area. Banda stepped up and calmly converted to score her first goal of the tournament.

The captain struck again moments later, meeting another dangerous delivery from Chilufya to make it 3-0 and effectively end Egypt's hopes of a comeback.

Banda completed her hat-trick in the 86th minute with a composed volley after Egypt failed to clear their lines, capping another clinical display in front of goal.

The 26-year-old then turned provider, showing excellent vision to set up substitute Eneless Phiri, who finished confidently to add Zambia's fifth goal of the evening.

Banda rounded off a memorable night with her fourth goal in the closing minutes, finishing neatly to seal a stunning 6-0 victory and move to the top of the tournament's scoring charts.

The commanding win gives Zambia the ideal start to their Group C campaign as they prepare for a blockbuster clash against defending champions Nigeria on Saturday.

Egypt, meanwhile, will look to bounce back when they face Malawi in their second group-stage fixture.