July 29, (THEWILL) – Australia staged an incredible comeback to defeat Zambia 6-5 in a thrilling Olympic women’s football match on Sunday. The Matildas overturned a three-goal deficit to claim victory in Nice.
Zambia took an early lead through Barbra Banda’s goal in the first minute. Despite Alanna Kennedy equalising for Australia, Zambia surged ahead to a 5-2 advantage early in the second half. Banda completed a hat-trick, while Racheal Kundananji scored twice for the African side.
However, Australia mounted a remarkable fightback. An own goal from Lushomo Mweemba and a goalkeeping error by Hazel Nali brought the score to 5-4. Steph Catley then converted a penalty to level the match at 5-5.
The dramatic turnaround was completed in the 90th minute when Michelle Heyman scored the winning goal for Australia. The victory keeps alive the Matildas’ hopes of progressing from Group B, following their opening 3-0 loss to Germany.
The result sets up an intriguing final round of group matches. Australia will face the United States, while Zambia takes on Germany to determine which teams advance to the quarterfinals.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
