The Republic of Ireland will face one of the most exciting attacking forces in African football when they welcome Zambia to Tallaght Stadium on Thursday.
Both countries are fine-tuning preparations for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, with Vera Pauw expecting the Copper Queens to pose similar threats to Nigeria, who Ireland play in the group stages on 31 July.
Zambia made an impression at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Although they failed to register a win in their three matches, Bruce Mwape's side turned heads with a swashbuckling, robustly attacking style.
Their standout performer was striker Barbra Banda who scored back-to-back hat-tricks at the Games. The first of those trebles came in a 10-3 hammering at the hands of the Netherlands, but a subsequent 4-4 draw against China [who Ireland drew with in February] and a narrow 1-0 loss to Brazil were more indicative of the nation's upward curve.
They reached the semi-finals of the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations - booking their ticket to the World Cup in the process - despite being without Banda, who controversially missed the tournament after failing a gender eligibility test due to high testosterone levels.
Banda's testosterone levels are naturally high; indeed, she had been taking medication to reduce them prior to WAFCON.
She returned afterwards to help her country win the COSAFA [Council of Southern Africa Football Associations] Women's Championship and has been named in Mwape's World Cup squad, having been given the green light by FIFA to participate in the tournament last January.
Zambia's captain and outstanding player has been a huge hit in the Chinese Super League, where she's a prolific scorer for Shanghai Shengli. Banda also has a good supporting cast of young players all hungry to impress on the big stage and earn high-profile moves to Europe's bigger clubs.
"I believe Barbra has come back stronger [from missing WAFCON]," Zambian football journalist Calvin Kaumba Chikenge told RTÉ Sport.
"She looks happy and I'm excited that she'll score goals at the World Cup.
"There's been so much improvement. They won the COSAFA, they went all the way to the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals to book their place at the FIFA World Cup. That was really massive for the team.
"They now have 15 professionals players that are plying their trade outside the country. Some of them are in Europe, some of them are in Asia. They've improved so much."
Like the Girls in Green, Zambia's exploits have caught the public imagination, with interest and support growing in tandem with their success.
"Women's football has become very popular in Zambia," Chikenge added. "I'm sure a lot of fans will be travelling to Australia. These footballers are now famous in the country. They can't walk without paparazzi following them.
"We now have people arguing on social media about the women's football team! That would never have been the case before.
"They're going there to enjoy the games. They want to go to Australia to gain experience, showcase their talent and then get signed by a big club in Europe."
So what exactly can Ireland expect from the visitors later this month?
Banda aside, they have pacey, skilful attackers who play with a lot of energy. Keep an eye out for Evarine Katongo, a wiry bag of tricks who loves to dribble. Racheal Nachula is a former 400m sprinter who represented Zambia at the 2008 Olympic Games, while further threats come from electric wide attacker Xiomara Mapepa and Grace Chanda, the playmaker who ties things together, a la Denise O'Sullivan.
"Zambia have very quick and strong strikers," said Chikenge. "The Ireland defence is going to have challenges - Grace Chanda, Barbra... they can cause a lot of problems.
"There's another player people should look out for and that is Racheal Kundananji. She's the second top-scorer in the Spanish league [with Madrid CFF].
"In the midfield we haven't seemed to find a proper partnership, but the striking force that Zambia have is one of the best in Africa now."
Pauw managed South Africa from 2014 to 2016 and is tuned into the potential on the continent.
Zambia are the coming force, but it's Nigeria who are rated as the best team in Africa. Ranked 45th in the world, they will be tough opponents Down Under and are probably the strongest fourth seed Ireland could have drawn.
"There are similarities [between Nigeria and Zambia]," Chikenge said.
"The Nigeria team have very big players. They play tactical, physical football, they're very strong in the air. Zambia and Nigeria have strong players in the middle of the park and good strikers.
"If you look at [Asisat] Oshoala [Barcelona's brilliant striker], she can score from anywhere. They have a number of players in Europe... no African country has been to the World Cup more than Nigeria - in fact they've been to every Women's World Cup.
"So they're ahead of Zambia in terms of their squad depth and the tactical side of the game."
Watch Republic of Ireland v Zambia on Thursday night from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, or follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app
