Chipolopolo head coach Avram Grant has defended Green Buffaloes goalkeeper Francis Mwansa following his performance against Congo Brazzaville on Friday.
Zambia beat Congo Brazzaville 4-2 in the opening match of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers played at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
Mwansa made his debut appearance for the Chipolopolo Boys during the 2023 Cosafa Championship, where he played two matches and kept one clean sheet.
He was also featured for the Chipolopolo in two back-to-back friendly games against Egypt and Uganda and managed to keep one clean sheet against the Cranes.
Against Congo Brazzaville in the World Cup qualifiers, Mwansa conceded two early goals in a space of two minutes, much to the displeasure of many fans, some of whom were seen gesturing in demand for this substitution.
Although the defenders were also to blame for the early goals due to sloppy defending, Mwansa took the most flak.
“All the goalkeepers are performing well.” -Grant
However, Grant believes the 21-year-old is a good goalkeeper and will be great in the future.
“I think Francis is doing a very good job since he played; also, Lawrence did a good job against Ivory Coast and Kalumba is the same. If you [come to our training], you will see that all the goalkeepers are performing very well, but this is the position where we want to see more stability,” he said.
Grant continued: “Anyone from these three that will play will show a good performance like Francis did in the last three games and Lawrence before.
“He [Francis] is good [currently] and will be for the future of the country; he is young.”
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Mwansa has not been a starter for his club this season and the coach said he hoped he would be given enough game time.
Zambia faces Niger on Tuesday next week and it remains to be seen if the Green Buffaloes goalkeeper will be in goal for the Chipolopolo again.
