India 2022™: Cameroon snatch win in Zambia as South Africa crumble to Ethiopia

Cameroon and Ethiopia boosted their quests for a place in the fourth round of the African qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup™, with their first leg away victories in Lusaka and Johannesburg on Friday, April 15, 2022.

Cameroon defeated Zambia 2-0 at the Nkoloma Stadium, while Ethiopia thrashed South Africa 3-0 at the Bidvest Stadium in the two matches played in the third round, first leg of the African U17 women's qualifying series.

In Johannesburg, Bantwana made a bright start to the game but could not convert their chances in the early stages before Eyerus Tulu broke the deadlock in the 15th minute after profiting from South Africa keeper Kgomotso Musimango's blunder.

After the recess, the Ethiopians pushed for more and were rewarded with the second of the match through Emush Dandamo two minutes to the hour mark.

On the brink of full time, Kumneger Kebede made up for her earlier miss to notch a third of the match for the visitors to guarantee a massive lead ahead of the second leg on May 1.

Meanwhile, Zambia and Cameroon endured a drab opening first half as both teams failed to find the back of the net until Mana Lamine opened the scoring three minutes into the second half.

With a goal down, the young Copper Queens fought hard to bounce back in the aftermath but saw their comeback hopes dashed 20 minutes later when Camila Daha sealed the visitors' win with the second goal from close range.

The win will see the young Lionesses in the driving seat when they turn out at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde for the second leg on April 30.