Key events
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.
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.
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 …
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.
