Bruce Mwape Attributes Defeat to Australia to Team Complacency

Bruce Mwape Attributes Defeat to Australia to Team Complacency

Zambia Women’s National Team head coach Bruce Mwape commented on his team’s complacency after leading 5-2, which led to their eventual 6-5 defeat.

The Copper Queens surrendered a 5-2 advantage in their penultimate group match on Sunday evening against the Matildas.

Mwape described some of the goals conceded as ‘silly’ and attributed the loss to allowing too many crosses into the box that the team failed to defend effectively.

“It’s very hard to explain that defeat because after leading 5-2 we had hope that we would carry the day, but the players became complacent and lost concentration.

Some of the goals we conceded were silly, like the penalty, and we allowed too many crosses and set-piece goals. Our defenders lack height for aerial balls, but that’s no excuse—we just failed to concentrate. I believe our players learned something from the game,” Mwape said.

“After conceding the sixth goal, we created about three clear chances. Poor finishing was the issue; otherwise, the game could have ended in a draw. We have only ourselves to blame. That should have been our game.”

Despite the loss, Mwape remains optimistic about the team’s chances to progress to the next round as one of the best third-place finishers.

“We should not lose hope for the next game. If we win, we will have three points, and with other teams also competing, we could still qualify as one of the best third-place finishers,” he said.

Barbra Banda scored a first-half hat-trick, making history as the first female football player to do so in Olympic Women’s Football.

“She played well, but she got tired towards the end of the game, which contributed to us not equalizing. Overall, she performed well, which is good for us as a team because this is her third hat-trick in two Olympic tournaments,” Mwape said.

Banda netted a hat-trick, and Rachel Kundananji added a brace, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Matildas from staging a brilliant comeback to win 6-5.

The Copper Queens will next face Germany on Wednesday at the Stade Geoffroy Guichard in Saint-Étienne.