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Stephanie Zambra (; born 13 June 1989) is an Irish retired
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a striker for
Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...
of Dublin and the
Republic of Ireland women's national football team The Republic of Ireland women's national football team () represents the Republic of Ireland in competitions such as the FIFA Women's World Cup and the UEFA Women's Championship. The team played in their first World Cup at the 2023 FIFA Women' ...
. Her October 2013 goal in the Women's National League (WNL) for Peamount United was the runner-up for the 2014
FIFA Puskás Award The FIFA Puskás Award is an award established on 20 October 2009 by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), at the behest of then-president Sepp Blatter, to be awarded to the player judged to have scored the most ae ...
for the best goal of the year. At club level Zambra played for various clubs in her native Ireland, including a successful three-year period at Peamount United from 2011 to 2014. She had short spells with
Division 1 Féminine Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 to ...
team
ASPTT Albi Albi Marssac Tarn Football ASPTT (or Association Sportive de La Poste et France Télécom Albi) is a French women's football team based in Albi. The first team plays at the Stade Maurice Rigaud. The club reached Division 2 Féminine in 2000 fo ...
in 2014 and
National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...
club
Houston Dash The Houston Dash are an American professional soccer team based in Houston, Texas, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Dash began play in the 2014 season. The team plays its home games at Shell Energy Stadium. His ...
in 2015. A longer stint at
FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...
club
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
from 2015 to 2018 was interrupted by injury and illness, before she spent a year in Italy with Florentia in 2018 and 2019. She joined Peamount United for a second time in February 2020. In December 2022, she joined newly re-formed
Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...
ahead of the 2023 season. After winning her first senior
cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
in October 2008, Zambra has made over 50 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team. She was absent for almost two years after breaking her leg in during Ireland's failed
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification process decided all 24 teams which played in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, with the hosts France women's national football team, France qualifying automatically. It is the eighth FIFA Women's World ...
campaign, but was recalled in August 2019. Zambra stated in February 2020 that she enjoyed very good
luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at a ...
when her famous goal opened up wider opportunities for her, but that much of her subsequent football career has been plagued by correspondingly bad luck. She has worked for
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
as a television
pundit A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...
, covering events including the
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
and
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
editions of the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
, and
UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...
.


Early life

Zambra began playing football with the boys on the streets of her native Shankill. After a brief spell with Valeview Shankill FC was curtailed by rules against mixed-gender football, Zambra turned out for Cabinteely Girls. She progressed to playing for Stella Maris, where she struck up a forward partnership with
Áine O'Gorman Áine Marie O'Gorman (born 13 May 1989) is an Irish professional Association football, footballer who plays for Women's National League (Ireland), Women's National League club Shamrock Rovers Ladies F.C., Shamrock Rovers. At club level, O'Gorma ...
in the club's Under-18 team. In 2008 Zambra was awarded a
Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...
(FAI) scholarship to Sallynoggin College. She was named in an Irish Colleges team which travelled to Scotland for two friendlies in April 2009.


Club career


Early career

In June 2007, Zambra moved to Dundalk City and reportedly enjoyed a "dream debut", scoring twice in a 5–2 win over Benfica. After moving on to Raheny United, Zambra went on trial with English
FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...
club
Doncaster Rovers Belles Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an England, English women's association football, women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's admi ...
in February 2011, playing in a 4–0 friendly win over
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
.


Peamount United

In the inaugural 2011–12 Women's National League season, Zambra won the Golden Boot by scoring 26 goals for champions Peamount United. She formed a "devastating" striking partnership with Player of the Year Sara Lawlor. Zambra also scored the winner in the WNL Cup final to secure a
double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...
. In August 2011, Zambra played for Peamount United in the
2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League The 2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League was the eleventh edition of the European women's championship for football clubs. The final was held in the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany on 17 May 2012. As in the past two Champions League season ...
. Following Peamount's elimination by
Paris Saint-Germain Féminine Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain or simply PSG, are a French professional women's football club based in Paris. Founded in 1971, they compete in the Première Ligue, the top division of Fre ...
, Zambra rejected a transfer offer from FC Vendenheim. She recaptured the league Golden Boot from team-mate Lawlor in the 2013–14 Women's National League campaign.


FIFA Puskás Award

Zambra scored an acclaimed goal for Peamount against Wexford Youths in October 2013 which went viral on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
and brought her international attention. It was her first goal of the WNL season and was uploaded to the internet by team manager Eileen Gleeson as the matches were not televised. Zambra was glad it was captured for posterity: "It's just good for us now to get that on camera, it gives the Women's National League a bit of publicity as well as girls' football in Ireland, and I'm happy to be a part of that as well." Later that year she was shortlisted for the 2014
FIFA Puskás Award The FIFA Puskás Award is an award established on 20 October 2009 by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), at the behest of then-president Sepp Blatter, to be awarded to the player judged to have scored the most ae ...
, for the best goal of the year. She was the only female player to be nominated. Following an initial public vote, Zambra's goal was nominated as one of three finalists, alongside
James Rodríguez James David Rodríguez Rubio (born 12 July 1991) is a Colombian professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or Winger (association football), winger for Liga MX club Club León, León and Captain (associ ...
and
Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional association football, footballer who is the head coach of Eredivisie club Feyenoord. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and was ...
, who had both scored their nominated goals at the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...
. She was the sixth female player to be nominated for the award, and the first to rank among the finalists. At the
2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or The 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the fifth year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 12 January 2015. Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Ba ...
awards ceremony on 12 January 2015, Zambra finished in second place to Rodríguez for the FIFA Puskás Award, with 33% of the vote.


ASPTT Albi

In June 2014, Zambra signed for newly promoted
Division 1 Féminine Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 to ...
team
ASPTT Albi Albi Marssac Tarn Football ASPTT (or Association Sportive de La Poste et France Télécom Albi) is a French women's football team based in Albi. The first team plays at the Stade Maurice Rigaud. The club reached Division 2 Féminine in 2000 fo ...
. She failed to settle in France, scoring once in ten appearances before quitting the club amidst the FIFA Puskás Award publicity. Albi manager David Welferinger said: "This departure is linked to what is happening to her at the moment. She has been in high demand in recent weeks. I understand her decision even if it's sad." Zambra later explained that she was on an unfeasibly low salary in France having negotiated her own contract. She was particularly exasperated when the team failed to communicate the travel arrangements for a friendly match and departed with Zambra left behind. The "final straw" arrived when the team were made to wear revealing outfits for a promotional photo shoot.


Houston Dash

On 18 February 2015 Zambra signed with the
Houston Dash The Houston Dash are an American professional soccer team based in Houston, Texas, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Dash began play in the 2014 season. The team plays its home games at Shell Energy Stadium. His ...
. Dash coach Randy Waldrum hailed Zambra as: "possibly the best goalscorer to come out of Ireland since
Olivia O'Toole Olivia Christina O'Toole (born 25 February 1971) is an Irish former association footballer who played as a forward. She made her debut for the Republic of Ireland national team in 1991 and captained the team before retiring in 2009. O'Toole's ...
". After making only two brief substitute appearances in the
National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...
, Zambra was waived by the Houston Dash on 20 May 2015. Zambra was "shocked and disappointed" to be discarded three months into her one-year contract, but understood the club's reasoning. Although he was satisfied with Zambra's progress, Waldrum urgently needed to improve the team's defence. He had to release Zambra to free up an international slot and roster space for defensive reinforcements Camila Martins Pereira and Ellie Brush.


Sunderland

Zambra signed a two-year deal with
FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...
club
Sunderland A.F.C. Ladies Sunderland Association Football Club Women is an English women's association football, women's football club that plays in the . They play their home games at the Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground in Hetton-le-Hole, in the City of Sunderland, Tyn ...
on 17 June 2015. Her appearances in the
2016 FA WSL The 2016 FA WSL 1 was the sixth edition of the FA WSL since it was formed in 2010. The WSL 1 was expanded to nine teams. The season started on 23 March and Chelsea were the defending WSL 1 champions. Manchester City Manchester Cit ...
season were curtailed by illness, when she developed an abscess in her throat which ultimately required a
tonsillectomy Tonsillectomy is a surgical procedure in which both palatine tonsils are fully removed from the back of the throat. The procedure is mainly performed for recurrent tonsillitis, throat infections and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). For those wit ...
. She sustained a broken leg while on international duty in September 2017 and was released from her Sunderland contract in Summer 2018, when the club failed to secure a license for the top two tiers of
women's football in England Women's association football, Women's football has been played in England for over a century, sharing a common history with the men's game in the country in which the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game were codified. Wome ...
. At Sunderland Zambra was often played out of position as a wing-back, which she did not enjoy.


Florentia

Zambra agreed a transfer to Italian
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
club C.F. Florentia in November 2018. An ankle injury derailed her early progress and she started just one of four her appearances in the remainder of the
2018–19 Serie A The 2018–19 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 117th season of top-tier Italian football, the 87th in a round-robin tournament, and the 9th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...
season. For 2019–20 the club relocated from
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
to
San Gimignano San Gimignano (; named after St. Geminianus) is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Five Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the pr ...
. The new campaign looked promising for Zambra when she scored eight goals in
pre-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...
, but she failed to register a goal in seven competitive league and cup appearances. She grew increasingly disillusioned with aspects of her time at the club and decided to leave after one year: "I don't want to talk bad about the club or anything - I finished on good terms - but there was a lot of stuff that didn't go the way I wanted it to go. And I came to the realisation that it wasn't for me." Zambra later explained that she had not been paid in accordance with her contract and as of October 2021 was still owed two month's wages by Florentia.


Back to Peamount

In February 2020 Zambra re-signed for Peamount United. In moving back to the Women's National League she wanted to be closer to her friends and family, to plan for her career after football and to win back her national team place. When the delayed 2020 Women's National League season started she was disrupted by a cracked rib and then a calf injury. She also missed the
UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. ...
fixture against Glasgow City in November 2020, under
contact tracing In public health, contact tracing is the process of identifying people who may have been exposed to an infected person ("contacts") and subsequent collection of further data to assess transmission. By tracing the contacts of infected individua ...
rules. A consistent run of games at the end of the season saw a return to form for Zambra, who scored twice and was named Player of the Match in Peamount's 6–0 2020 FAI Women's Cup Final win over
Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...
. Zambra's appearance on the
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
show '' Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week'' disrupted her preparations for the 2021 Women's National League season. Although she scored nine goals in 26 appearances, tiredness and minor injuries continued to reduce her effectiveness as Peamount lost their WNL title to Shelbourne on the final day. Nevertheless, Peamount manager James O'Callaghan was pleased when Zambra agreed to return for the 2022 Women's National League season, rejecting transfer offers from
DLR Waves Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Waves, also referred to as DLR Waves, is a women-only Irish association football club based in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It was originally founded in 2012. DLR Waves field several teams; the senior League of Ireland t ...
and Bohemians. Zambra began the new season in top form, scoring four goals in five games and being named WNL Player of the Month for March 2022. She finished the season with 16 goals, as Peamount came third in the table behind Shelbourne and
Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they play t ...
.


Shamrock Rovers

On 8 December 2022, it was announced that Zambra would be joining the newly reformed Shamrock Rovers women's team ahead of the 2023 season, following other former Peamount players
Áine O'Gorman Áine Marie O'Gorman (born 13 May 1989) is an Irish professional Association football, footballer who plays for Women's National League (Ireland), Women's National League club Shamrock Rovers Ladies F.C., Shamrock Rovers. At club level, O'Gorma ...
and Summer Lawless to the Tallaght outfit. Zambra faced a demanding schedule as she had agreed to participate in the sixth season of ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
'' alongside training with her new club. She also announced her intention to play football under her married name, Stephanie Zambra, from the start of the 2023 season.


Retirement

Zambra announced her retirement from professional football on 10 October 2024.


International career


Youth

Zambra represented the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
at the youth level, saying: "I just missed out in the final trials for Ireland under 15s and I was really heartbroken. But then I made the team at under 17s." In August 2005, she scored the winning goal on her under 19 debut, securing a 3–2 win over
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
at
Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, Cha ...
. In three seasons at the under-19 level, Zambra remained a regular pick and was the team's top-goalscorer.


Senior

Zambra's senior international debut came in a 3–0
UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying Qualifying for UEFA Women's Euro 2009 determined which 11 teams joined Finland women's national football team, Finland, the hosts of the 2009 tournament, to play for the UEFA Women's Championship. Preliminary round 20 teams were divided into 5 g ...
play-off defeat by
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
in October 2008. She replaced Stef Curtis for the last five minutes of the match at
Laugardalsvöllur Laugardalsvöllur (, or more precisely 'Laugardalur Stadium') is Iceland's national stadium, national football stadium and the home venue for the Iceland national football team located in Reykjavík. It has a seating capacity of 9,500 and about ...
. In September 2009, Zambra scored her first senior goal, a late winner in the 2–1 World Cup qualifying win over
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
at Turners Cross. In the following month's return fixture, Roche made her first start for the Irish senior team. She scored again, the equaliser in another 2–1 win for Ireland. Zambra scored her third goal for Ireland during a home friendly defeat by
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in March 2010. Despite her equaliser, a controversial penalty from
Sonia Bompastor Sonia Bompastor (, ; born 8 June 1980) is a French football manager and former player who manages Chelsea of the English Women's Super League. She is the first person to win the UEFA Women's Champions League as both a player and a manager, and i ...
and
Marie-Laure Delie Marie-Laure Delie (born 29 January 1988) is a French former football player who played as a striker. She plays as a striker and is a member of the France women's national football team having made her debut for the team on 23 September 2009. C ...
's late winner gave the French victory. National coach Susan Ronan dropped Zambra from the squad for a friendly with
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
in June 2013 and the subsequent 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifiers. This left her disappointed but keen to win back her place: "I was dropped against Austria and wasn't told why or what the story was. I've played for the last few years so it hurt me to be let go while not knowing what was happening so I'd love to get back in again." After Zambra re-discovered her goal-scoring form at the club level, Ronan re-called her in October 2013. On 5 April 2014 in a 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifier against
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
at
Tallaght Stadium Tallaght Stadium () is an List of association football stadiums in the Republic of Ireland, association football stadium in Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers F.C., Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of ...
, Zambra equalised the game at 2–2 in the 89th minute. But Ireland lost 3–2 when Melanie Leupolz scored in injury time. In the penultimate qualifier Zambra scored an injury time goal of her own to secure a 1–0 victory over
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
in Senec on 13 September 2014. Zambra continued to be selected by Sue Ronan for Ireland's
UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying Group 2 Group 2 of the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying competition consisted of five teams: Spain, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Portugal, and Montenegro. The composition of the eight groups in the qualifying group stage was decided by the draw held on ...
fixtures. In June 2016 Zambra scored a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
in Ireland's 9–0 win over
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
. That brought her tally to four goals in four days, as she had scored Ireland's consolation as they were beaten 4–1 by Finland in
Valkeakoski Valkeakoski (; lit. "white rapids") is a town and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is located south of Tampere, north of Hämeenlinna and north of Helsinki in the Pirkanmaa regions of Finland, region. The municipality has ...
. When Ronan decided to step down as national team coach, Zambra scored a "stunning 25-yard free-kick" in her farewell match, a 2–1 win over the Basque Country at Tallaght Stadium on 26 November 2016. Under Ronan's successor Colin Bell, Zambra maintained her national team place. She scored in Bell's first game in charge, a 2–0 win over the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
at the 2017 Cyprus Cup on 1 March 2017. The following month, Zambra was among a delegation of 13 players who secured substantially improved working conditions for Ireland's female national team players, following a protracted dispute with the
Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...
. She then scored the only goal from a
penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
as Ireland beat Slovakia in a friendly match which had been at risk of cancellation due to the dispute. In Ireland's opening 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifier, a 2–0 win over
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
in
Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and roughly southwest of Belfast. The town is linked to Belfast by both the M1 motorway (Northern Ireland), M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin rail ...
, Zambra suffered a broken tibia. She returned to training in January 2018 but experienced knee pain when kicking the ball, then further scans detected another fracture and meniscus damage. In February 2019 Zambra expressed annoyance at a newspaper report which incorrectly stated she had retired from international football: "I'm not after retiring, I'm just injured like!" Ireland's
interim manager Interim management is the temporary provision of management resources and skills. Interim management can be seen as the short-term assignment of a proven heavyweight interim executive manager to manage a period of transition, crisis or change wi ...
Tom O'Connor recalled Zambra after almost two years for the opening UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifier against Montenegro at Tallaght Stadium on 3 September 2019. Zambra appeared as a late substitute in Ireland's 1–1 draw in
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
on 12 November 2019, but was then left out by new head coach
Vera Pauw Vera Pauw (; born 18 January 1963) is a Dutch Women's association football, football coach and former player who is the manager of the United Arab Emirates women's national football team, United Arab Emirates women's national team. She has manage ...
for the double-header against Greece and Montenegro in March 2020. When Heather Payne was injured in the first match, Zambra was called up as her replacement for the fixture in Montenegro. Following an injury to Kyra Carusa, Pauw recalled Zambra in June 2022 for a friendly against the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
in
Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...
, Turkey, and a
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A UEFA Group A of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification competition consists of five teams: Sweden, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, and Georgia. The composition of the nine groups in the qualifying group stage was decided by the draw ...
fixture against
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
. Zambra had continued to attend training sessions throughout her exile from the national team and was praised by Pauw for her professionalism. In Ireland's 1–0 win over the Philippines Zambra started her first national team game since 2017.


International appearances


International goals

:''Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goals first. Score column indicates score after each Zambra goal. Updated as of 16 May 2023.''


Personal life

At the time of her famous goal in October 2013, Zambra had been in a relationship with footballer Dean Zambra for almost seven years. She was an
intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...
on the
Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...
's (FAI)
Futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...
project. She is a self-described
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
supporter. Stephanie and Dean were married in June 2022, after 15 years together.


Honours


Player

Peamount United * Women's National League: 2011–12,
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
*
FAI Women's Cup The Football Association of Ireland Women's Cup is the senior cup competition for women's association football in Ireland. It is commonly known as the Women's FAI Cup, the WFAI Cup, or prior to 2001, the Ladies FAI Cup or the LFAI Cup. Organised ...
:
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
Individual *
FIFA Puskás Award The FIFA Puskás Award is an award established on 20 October 2009 by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), at the behest of then-president Sepp Blatter, to be awarded to the player judged to have scored the most ae ...
(2nd place) 2014 *FAI Women's National League Top Goalscorer: 2011–12, 2013–14


References


External links


Ireland player profile

Houston Dash player profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zambra, Stephanie 1989 births Living people Republic of Ireland women's association footballers Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland women's international footballers Women's association football forwards Republic of Ireland expatriate women's association footballers Expatriate women's footballers in France Expatriate women's footballers in England Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Sunderland A.F.C. Women players Women's Super League players National Women's Soccer League players Houston Dash players Stella Maris F.C. players Raheny United F.C. players League of Ireland Women's Premier Division players Peamount United F.C. players ASPTT Albi players Florentia San Gimignano SSD players Expatriate women's footballers in Italy Serie A (women's football) players Irish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Irish expatriate sportspeople in France Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Republic of Ireland women's youth international footballers 21st-century Irish sportswomen