LUSAKA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The head coach of the Zambia Under-23 national soccer team, Benson Chambeshi on Friday named 26 players to prepare for the 2019 Africa Cup qualifier game against Malawi later this month.
The junior Chipolopolo will face Malawi on March 20 away in Blantyre for the first leg encounter and then meet them at home four days later.
The trainer has named the squad comprising of local players only which goes into residential camp on March 4, according to a statement posted on the soccer governing body, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ), website.
The team is expected to be in camp until departure for Malawi, team manager Hastings Ndovi said, adding that seven foreign-based players will join the team in the later stages of the qualifiers.
The winner of the game will face either Burundi or Congo Brazzaville in the final qualifying round.
Eight teams will qualify to the Egypt 2019 Africa Cup of Nations with the top three at the tournament automatically qualifying to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
