Former Chipolopolo goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene has encouraged Francis Mwansa to be mentally strong and step up his game on the national team.
This comes after the 21-year-old Green Buffaloes goalkeeper was criticized for conceding two quick goals in a space of three minutes in the match against Congo Brazzaville last Friday, causing a social media outburst from fans.
Despite that, the Chipolopolo managed to come from behind to beat Congo Brazzaville 4-2 in their Group E opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
In a live Facebook interview on BolaNews, Mweene feels the Mwansa needs more game time to become better.
“People are looking at the two goals he conceded; what about the rest of the 90 minutes? Did he not play well? he asked.
“It’s something that we have to give the coach space; he played two friendly games against Egypt and Uganda and as a player, you are as good as your last game. The more you play regularly for the national team, the more you become better and more experienced.
Mweene’s message to Mwansa
The Mamelodi Sundowns assistant goalkeeper coach has encouraged Mwansa to remain mentally strong and focused.
“I always emphasize and preach that when you are a goalkeeper mentally, you must be the strongest amongst all the players; whether [the mistake] started with you or it started up front, the fact that they scored you means that the problem started somewhere, not with you but at the end of the day, you are the one who is going to get the [criticism] as a goalkeeper, but you have to know how to handle it.
“For me, from what I have seen, you can not say the goalkeeper is not ready; we have to throw them in games like these qualifiers for them to gain experience,” advised Mweene.
Mwansa, who has suffered a lack of game time at Green Buffaloes, made his national team debut during the 2023 Cosafa tournament, playing two matches and managing to keep one clean sheet.
He was also in goal for the Chipolopolo during the two international back-to-back friendly matches against Egypt and Uganda, conceding one goal and keeping one clean sheet.
