• ZAMBIA’S Chrispin Sakulanda (right) and Ismael Musanka of Zimbabwe compete for the ball during the final of the COSAFA Under-20 championship in Zimbabwe on Sunday. Zambia beat Zimbabwe 3-0. Picture by COSAFA

By SANDRA MWILA –
THE Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) is trying to secure an international friendly match for the Chipolopolo against either Morocco or Egypt as part of preparations for the Equatorial Guinea 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals.
Coach Honour Janza said in an interview yesterday that the Chipolopolo might face North African opposition in Egypt or Morocco depending on how negotiations would go to enable the team have quality preparations.
Janza, whose squad was boosted by the arrival of Chipolopolo vice captain Nathan Sinkala, striker James Chamanga and Lubambo Musonda, said plans were underway to try and arrange some preparatory games before the AFCON finals.
Zambia plays Bafana Bafana on January 4 in South Africa where the team is expected to set up base on December 26 after a two-weeks training in Lusaka that comprised mainly locally based players.
“We are trying to set up a match with a team from North Africa or West Africa and we are looking at Egypt or Morocco to help us adequately prepare for the tournament. Of course we shall take the South Africa friendly match seriously as it will help the players and the coaching bench gauge them,” he said.
The team that was given morning off, was expected to be joined in the afternoon training session by Sinkala, Chamanga and Musonda bringing the number of the foreign based players to four.
Russian based midfielder Chisamba Lungu was the first to join the squad on Monday while Janza is expected to name his 26-member squad before departure for South Africa on December 26.
The players have joined the squad early as their respective leagues are on recess thus giving coach Honour Janza enough time to be with some of the foreign based players he is expected to name next week before shifting camp to South Africa.
On team selection, Janza reaffirmed his stance on the need for players to work hard as no one was guaranteed a place in the team because he will pick his squad based on performance and not names.
Janza said his desire will be to pick a strong squad that should go and challenge for the AFCON title next month and will not look at which club a player comes from but their ability to deliver.