When USWNT head coach Emma Hayes called Barbra Banda 'the most in-form striker in world football,' she wasn't joking. The Zambian striker scored her third hat trick in the Olympics Monday evening. The feat came against Australia in an 11-goal matchup that ended with a 6-5 score in favour of the Aussies at the Paris Olympics 2024.
Three years ago, at the Tokyo 2020 Games, Banda became the first player to record back-to-back hat-tricks in the tournament’s history. Zambia drew the game with China, lost to the Netherlands, and exited the group stage, but Banda etched her name in the history books forever.
After performing against Australia, she became the first player to score three hat-tricks in women's football. In the Olympic qualifiers, Banda set another record — she became the first Zambian male or female player to score 50 international goals.
Also Read: Catch HT's comprehensive coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics here
Barbra Banda has been on a roll
Banda is Africa’s all-time leading scorer, with 53 goals in just 60 matches. This year, she bagged a vast $2.1 million deal while transitioning from the Chinese Women's Super League to the National Women’s Soccer League (NSWL) in the USA. She began playing for the Orlando Pride in April on a four-year deal and has already scored 12 goals in 12 games. "Actually, I'm unpredictable," Banda told CBS’ Attacking Third.
"I feel when I'm given a chance, I have to utilise my chances very well. So when I get a spot, I think I have a chance to score. I just have to put it [in the back] of the net. So for me, I'm very unpredictable and more especially during training and when it's the game time, we get instructions from the coach, but it's time [when] a player has to have their own personal knowledge. It's not that everything that you're going to use, what you practice in the pitch, but there is that element of your own that you need to apply during the game."
{{/usCountry}}"I feel when I'm given a chance, I have to utilise my chances very well. So when I get a spot, I think I have a chance to score. I just have to put it [in the back] of the net. So for me, I'm very unpredictable and more especially during training and when it's the game time, we get instructions from the coach, but it's time [when] a player has to have their own personal knowledge. It's not that everything that you're going to use, what you practice in the pitch, but there is that element of your own that you need to apply during the game."
{{/usCountry}}Zambia will now face Germany in its final group-stage game on Wednesday, July 31.