Here is Sid’s report!
Thank you very much for joining me. Sid Lowe’s report will be landing very soon.
I have always wondered what is the point in playing lengthy injury-time when the score is something like 5-0. The players cannot want to bother and the fans won’t be shortchanged. Who are they playing on for?
Full-time! Spain 5-0 Zambia
It was as we all predicted: Spain were utterly dominant from start to finish and thoroughly deserved their victory and progression to the knockout stages. Zambia fought for the entire 90 but there was a clear difference in class between the two teams.
90+6 mins: Del Castillo is now on the deck looking very upset.
90+4 mins: I am not sure anyone on the pitch really wants to play out these final eight mins.
Del Castillo says her race is run, too, which is a worry.
90+2 mins: The first booking of the match goes to Lubandji.
Abelleira requires treatment. I’d probably jus take her off now.
90 mins: Eight minutes added on. That is a lot.
89 mins: Almost a sixth for Spain as Navarro gets down the right and drills in a cross but her shot is intercepted at the cost of a corner.
The corner almost results in a goal too, but Redondo’s header is straight at the goalkeeper.
88 mins: Obviously the effort required by Zambia throughout the match has resulted in a very tired final 15 minutes or so, which Spain have taken advantage of.
GOAL! Spain 5-0 Zambia (Redondo, 85)
Navarro whips in a cross to Redondo, she takes a couple of touches and fires into the corner. The flag goes up. It is a tight one, so a VAR comes into play. Thankfully the referee gets her announcement right.
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84 mins: Hermoso goes through, gets the ball onto her right foot before firing at goal. Sakala is in the right place and tips the ball onto the bar.
Sakala is there again at the subsequent corner, keeping hold of a Paredes header.
Del Castillo comes on for Caldentey.
82 mins: Redondo is sent through on goal but Sakala flies out and launches into a tackle, getting the ball. The Spanish forward almost regains possession but takes a poor touch and Sakala is there to claim.
80 mins: Barbra Banda gets another shooting opportunity but viciously strikes the ball just over.
78 mins: Navarro shoots from distance but Sakala is a match for it.
76 mins: Zambia subs with Katongo and Mweemba going off, Lubandji and Phiri on.
75 mins: Hermoso did not think she had scored and needed a couple of people to tell her. The referee not being one of those.
GOAL! Spain 4-0 Zambia (Hermoso, 70)
Redondo gets on the end of a cross but hits her shot against the post. The ball bounces straight out to Hermoso who does the rest, only to see the flag go up for Caldentey, the original crosser being offside. VAR has a long look at it. A really long look. A mindbogglingly long look. Then the referee announces that it is not a goal before correcting herself. All a bit of a farce.
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GOAL! Spain 3-0 Zambia (Redondo, 69)
And there it is. Navarro lifts the ball over the top for fellow sub Redondo. She stays on her feet despite a push in the back and then rounds the goalkeeper to tap into an empty net.
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67 mins: Spain seemed to have slowed down somewhat. They really need another to kill this game off.
65 mins: Hermoso takes aim from the edge of the box but her shot takes a deflection, taking much of the pace off the shot and Sakala pushes it wide.
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63 mins: As always, Zambia are looking quite dangerous on the break but lack any end product.
61 mins: “I don’t understand why Spain continually want to play through the middle,” asks Jim O’Brien. “Japan were much more dominant and spread the game wider.”
Spain sticking to what they know.
Another Spanish change: Guerrero on, Bonmati off.
59 mins: Barbra Banda breaks down the left and picks out Katongo in the box but her shot is blocked.
57 mins: Zambia are still hounding Spain but they able to pass it round them.
55 mins: Navarro sends a good cross into the box but Caldentey cannot make sufficient contact and it flashes wide off her forehead.
Barbra Banda gives Paredes a shove in the back for her own amusement.
53 mins: Sakala just about avoids making a catastrophic error. A cross is lifted onto Bonmati’s head but her effort is tame from about 10 yards. Sakala should claim it easily but it slips through her grasp and she just salvages the situation by diving on the ball before it crosses the line.
51 mins: Spain have enjoyed 77% possession, which is impressive.
49 mins: Whenever Sakala does get the chance to kick from her hands, her sole intention is to get the ball as far up the pitch as possible immediately. Considering they only have Barbra Banda up there, she might be better taking a second or two to consider her options.
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47 mins: Spain have had all the ball since kick-off.
Second half
Here we go again!
Half-time changes for Spain: Redondo, Hernandez and Navarro on for Putellas, Paralluelo and Batlle.
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Kurt Perleberg asks: “Why is Spain so good in women’s football?”
Obviously, they are pretty decent. Overall, I think the fact that women’s football has been quite a big sport in Spain for longer than other countries, so they have better pathways for players and therefore more of an identity. I might be wrong.
Earlier today …
Tony Mason wants your views: “Early days still in thus WC but Spain and Japan both look good. Against Zambia and Costa Rica I’d like to put a premature claim that Aoba Fujino will be the player of the tournament. The teenager showed skill, strength and precision to score today and looked great against Zambia.
“Any other early shouts out there?”
Half-time: Spain 2-0 Zambia
A very dominant opening 45 minutes from Spain, who will mainly be disappointed that they failed to add to their two early goals. They almost did on the stroke of half-time but Sakala does well to block a close-range shot from Bonmati.
45+4 mins: I would argue that Rodriguez has just picked up a backpass but the officials do not care.
45+2 mins: Andrew Colville offers: “Feels like Barbra Banda is plowing (ploughing) a lonely furrow up front, she’s pressing very actively but without much support from her teammates - a Banda apart.”
45 mins: Six minutes added on.
43 mins: Barbra Banda runs at Paredes and the Spanish defender dives in to tackle her inside the box. The Zambia forward claims a penalty but it is the perfect challenge. Banda’s pace is causing Spain some problems.
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41 mins: Zambia are currently holding their own but I fear how tired they will be in the latter stages.
39 mins: Hermoso has the ball in the back of the net. A pass is lifted over the defence, who are rushing out, and Hermoso takes a touch before slotting home but she is very much offside.
37 mins: It’s a double change for Zambia. Wilombe and Chitundu are ready to come on but they are waiting to see if Tembo can recover from getting the ball hit straight at her. She is OK, so it is Susan Banda and Mapepa who go off.
35 mins: Whenever Zambia cross the halfway, the crowd comes alive. Everyone wants them to get back into this.
“Fox Sports American commentators having a lot of fun pronouncing the Spanish players’ names in their best Spanish accents,” emails Ezra Finkelstein.
I hate to think.
33 mins: Zambia are waiting to make a sub to get back up to 11 players but Spain have maintained possession for a solid two minutes.
31 mins: Carmona lifts the ball into the box, Hermoso chests it down into the path of Bonmati but she drags her shot wide.
Susan Banda is down again and her race is run.
29 mins: Zambia have a free-kick in the corner. Mapepa’s deliver is relatively dangerous but it just drifts past the outside post.
27 mins: Zambia attack once more and get the ball to Barbra Banda into the box, she turns Andres but cannot get her shot on target. Spain do need to avoid getting too lax because Barbra Banda can punish them, given the chance.
25 mins: I feel Spain are trying to create the perfect team goal by passing the ball from back to front, including a touch for every player. It is that sort of game.
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23 mins: Now Barbra Banda is down after getting the ball in her face. She seems fine to continue.
21 mins: Susan Banda hobbles back on. Zambia are working very hard and are winning the ball back through pressing but they lack the quality to keep hold of it and Spain keep coming back at them.
19 mins: Susan Banda is on the deck and needs the physio. She hobbles off to the side and holds her foot. Not ideal for Zambia, who need all their best players on the pitch.
17 mins: Zambia have 10 players inside their defensive third. It really is all hands on deck to keep Spain at bay, even for a few minutes.
15 mins: A Spain victory would see them through to the knockout stages along with Japan, making their final group game a decider for who finishes top.
Spain are starting to play some exhibition stuff; quick passing, flicks and tricks are all coming out.
GOAL! Spain 2-0 Zambia (Hermoso, 13)
The easiest of goals. Putellas darts into the box and lifts a cross over the goalkeeper to the back post where Hermoso is waiting to head home unmarked.
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11 mins: It is certainly a question of how many now. Zambia are working as hard as possible but the gulf in class is noticeable.
GOAL! Spain 1-0 Zambia (Abelleira, 9)
It’s been coming but what a way to open the scoring. Abelleira receives the ball around 25 yards from goal, she takes a touch to get it out of her feet and rifles a shot into the top corner.
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8 mins: Caldentey whacks a cross into the box and Zambia scramble it away.
The ball gets down the other end to Barbra Banda, who drives for the box and manages to get a shot away but it is a weak one and the goalkeeper gobbles it up.
6 mins: Sakala, effectively Zambia’s third-choice goalkeeper, dives to punch a cross straight into the path of Paralluelo but she cannot control her shot.
Moments later, Sakala again fails to deal properly with a cross and Zambia get away with it once more.
4 mins: Zambia fail to clear a cross into the box and Putellas picks up the loose ball. She takes a couple of touches and fires off a shot, which is deflected wide. Needless to say, it is all Spain.
2 mins: Spain on the front foot from the off. They look eager to go for the kill and get this match done and dusted.
Kick-off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The lyric-less Spain anthem is pumped out. I enjoyed when they tried to come up with some but decided it wasn’t very good.
The teams are in the tunnel …
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Putellas and Caldentey will be confident of causing problems for Zambia. This is a perfect second match for Spain to build some momentum in the tournament after, as previously mentioned, a tricky buildup.
Could Zambia pull off a shock?
Pre-match reading.
Starting lineups
Spain (4-3-3): Rodriguez; Batlle, Paredes, Andres, Carmona; Abelleira, Bonmati, Putellas; Caldentey, Hermoso, Paralluelo
Subs: Salon, Coll, Guerrero, Gonzalez, Hernandez, Codina, Navarro, Perez, Redondo, Galvez, Zornoza, Del Castillo
Zambia (4-3-3): Sakala; Mweemba, Belemu, Tembo, Musesa; S Banda, Katongo, I Lungu; B Banda, Kundananji, Mapepa
Subs: L Lungu, Soko, Mulenga, Wilombe, Lubandji, Selemani, Chanda, Chitundu, E Banda, Phiri
Spain defeated Costa Rica 3-0 in their opening match, while Zambia were given a 5-0 shellacking at the hands of Japan. The result in this match looks beyond doubt already.
The two teams do have something in common: they have both had plenty of off-field issues coming into the tournament. Spain arrive after reintegrating some of the 15 players that previously refused to play under head coach Jorge Vilda but the prospect of a World Cup has brought them back to the well.
Meanwhile many of Zambia’s squad have been without pay for two years. Players have previously refused to train because of the failure to pay but they are here and will be looking to bounce back. On Tuesday, journalists were stopped from asking Zambia’s coach Bruce Mwape about sexual misconduct allegations against him.
Anyway … time to focus on the pitch.
Kick-off: 8.30am BST.
