CHIPOLOPOLO coach Honour Janza needs to trade wisely when selecting a team to face Mozambique in the Morocco 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier set for Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola tomorrow.
Janza should carefully choose a team that would be able to collect six points off the Mambas and Cape Verde and not basking on past glory.
I say so looking at the variety of players Janza has summoned for the qualifiers and it would be wise for the coach not to play names but players that deserve to be in the team and have been playing regularly at their clubs.
I feel the lads that played on Sunday put up a good performance that was befitting opening of the Heroes National Stadium and strongly feel some deserve a place in the starting 11 for the next assignment.
The coach should be fair and select players on merit and on current form and not looking at their previous record.
Janza does not need a microscope to tell him about the performance of some players like Emmanuel Mayuka, Joseph Musonda and skipper Christopher Katongo among them who have struggled to be in the starting 11 at their clubs save for warming the bench.
Time is gone for some players to be picked based on their past glory but we need players who have the hunger and zeal to take the team far in the competition.
If anything, look at the last match against Sudan, the team comprised mostly of local players and was beefed up by the quartet from TP Mazembe and Mukuka Mulenga based in South Africa managed a comfortable win over a Sudan.
This was the same Sudanese team that Zambia, with all the foreign based ammunitions, failed to beat during the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers losing 2-0 away in Khartoum before managing a 1-all draw at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
Of course players like Stopilla Sunzu, Nathan Sinkala, Chisamba Lungu including the TP Mazembe quartet have seen some game times at their respective clubs and deserve selection unlike some other players.
I am not inciting the technical bench to sideline anyone but experience speaks for itself as it is the best teacher.
Ex-Chipolopolo coach Patrice Beaumelle started a process of rebuilding the team and Janza seems to be on that same path which is good for football development.
There is need to give these upcoming players a chance to show what they can do unlike falling back on tired legs.
I hope Government plans to charter a plane for the squad into Cape Verde will yield results, although last minute preparations can be disappointing and frustrating at times. We should have done our preparations and checks on travel arrangements early.
Let me also congratulate the Zambia Under-20 squad for clinching qualification to the Senegal 2015 Africa Youth Championship. The feat is commendable and the onus will be on the various stakeholders to put their heads together and see how best this team can be prepared.
Good luck Chipolopolo!