Lwandamina Tells Local Players, Fight for Your National Team Place
Chipolopolo interim coach George ‘Chicken’ Lwandamina says local players will have to work very hard to make the cut for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers commencing next month.
Speaking after Friday’s morning training session at Nkoloma Stadium, Lwandamina said although the bulk of the AFCON qualifiers squad would comprise foreign based players, there was room for top performing locals.
The local camp comprises a combination of players that participated in the Mukuru Four Nations tournament and remnants of the Argentina international friendly.
The experienced coach wants the players currently attending the local assessment camp to treat every training session as an opportunity to make an impression and compete for places in the final squad.
The camp features a mixture of players who represented Zambia at the Mukuru Four Nations tournament in Botswana and members of the squad that faced Argentina in an international friendly in Buenos Aires earlier this year.
Lwandamina’s remarks come as competition for places intensifies ahead of Zambia’s Group I AFCON qualifying campaign. The Chipolopolo have been drawn alongside Algeria, Togo and Burundi, with the first two matches scheduled for September.
Zambia will begin the qualifying campaign away against Algeria before returning home to host Togo in the second match.
With the qualifiers approaching, Lwandamina’s message is clear: local players must raise their performance levels and demonstrate that they can compete for international places.
The assessment camp therefore provides an important opportunity for the locally based players to catch the coach’s attention and force their way into Zambia’s final AFCON qualifying squad.
“Basically, this is our initial camping. So, we have gotten players who went to Botswana, and those who went to Argentina. This is the group that we have,” he said.
“We don’t know which ones will come from abroad. So, we have to start with these. So that’s the chance they have, this is an initial one (camp).”
Lwandamina says since foreign based players will only join in the final stages, he would polish up the locals hoping a few will make the cut.
“As you may be aware, foreign based players can only come few days before the games. So, we have to play and train with the locals, hoping one or two or three will make it to the final one.”
He intimated that his technical bench was tracking top performing foreign based players that will make the squad for the back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Algeria and Togo in September.
“We are following what is happening and we followed what they have been doing. You will see the squad which will be announced,” he says.
“They are all Zambians. It is good for the country. If there is that competition in the team, then you have a team. If players can fight, then you have a team. So, it is good. We are following them (players playing abroad),” he says.
“The locals have work extra harder, chances (for making the squad) are there for them. Those who are playing in the diaspora are active. And that’s where most of the team will come from.”
The Chipolopolo will be away to Algeria on 25 September in a Group I match day one tussle before hosting Togo four days later in Ndola.
Lwandamina has kickstarted preparations with a local camp before stepping up in the final stages when the foreign based players join during the FIFA Window which opens on 21 September.
He has summoned 28 local players for the initial camp.
