Zambia captain Barbra Banda says her side is still confident of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Women’s World Cup as they prepare to meet powerhouse Spain in their second Group B clash on Wednesday.

Zambia were humbled 5-0 by Japan on debut in their first game, a result and performance that both Banda and coach Bruce Mwape described as surprising to them and well short of the standards the team has set in recent times.

Banda is confident they can bounce back and that the Copper Queens will be much improved against the Spanish.

“We have looked into our mistakes in the previous game and we will collect three points tomorrow,” Banda told reporters on Tuesday. “Looking at Spain, they have good quality players. We are not looking at individuals, but they have a very good team. In our minds we are just looking to perform to our very best.

“In the previous game, we got a lot of experience. Japan were a very good team and very disciplined when it comes to formation, we learnt from that game and are looking to go into the next game with a good mentality.”

Zambia will seek to draw inspiration from their 3-2 win over world No 2 Germany just a fortnight before the world Cup started.

“We had a good game against Germany, on that day we managed to win, but we knew we still had a lot of work to do (at the World Cup),” Banda said. “We started with a loss but that does not mean we should be down. We are still motivated and encouraging each other that we can go to the next round.”

Zambia were not helped by injuries to first choice goalkeeper Hazel Nali and key midfielder Grace Chanda before the competition began.

“The injuries have cost us a bit, but we still have players who can come in and perform and have trust that whoever comes in will deliver,” Banda says. “Spain is not a pushover; they are a very good team. We are expecting a tough game but we are up to the challenge, we just have to do our best.”

Mwape echoed those sentiments and says the team is focussed on a victory and nothing else.

“Our aim for tomorrow is to get a good result. After the game against Japan, where the result was not what we wanted, we have done all we can to prepare the team adequately,” he said.

“People should expect a different game from us altogether, unlike the one they watched against Japan. We want maximum points, for us to qualify (for the knockout rounds) we need to win the remaining games.”

Zambia will also play a final group clash against Costa Rica on Monday.