By Ronald Mpaso & Mabvuto Kambuwe:
Zambia National Football Team Coach Avram Grant has named a strong 24-member provisional squad for the Four-Nation tournament set for the March 18 to 26 Fifa international window in Lilongwe.
The squad is made up of players who competed at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cote d’Ivoire and some new faces.
The big names Grant has called up include Patson Daka (Leicester City, England), Lameck Banda (Lecce, Italy), Emmanuel Banda (Club Rijeka, Croatia), Benson Sakala (Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic) and Stoppilla Sunzu (Cangzhou Mighty Lions, China).
Also on the list are Lubamba Musonda (Sikebord IF, Denmark), Frankie Musonda (AYR United, Scotland), Gift Mphande (Hapoel Rishon Lezion FC, Israel) and Miguel Chaiwa (Club Schaffhasen, Switzerland).
Zambia will use the tournament to prepare for 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Morocco and Tanzania between June 3 and 11.
After announcing names of members of the squad on Monday, Grant underscored the importance of the tournament.
“It will be very tough in June but I am positive about this. This tournament is very important for the preparations. It will be a good test; teams in Africa are improving every day,” Grant said.
Besides Malawi and Zambia, two other teams that are set to participate in the four-nation competition are Zimbabwe and Kenya.
Meanwhile, football analyst Kevin Moyo has said Zambia are taking advantage of the Fifa international window to assemble their best squad for the tournament, which will also have under-20 teams.
“We should also expect Kenya and Zimbabwe to do the same. During such windows, clubs all over the world are obliged to release players for national team assignments,” Moyo said.
