Warriors coach Zdravko Logarusic has had a rethink on his decision to overlook players who failed to take part in Zimbabwe’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
The Croat made headlines after he said he had blue-ticked and blocked the European-based stars on WhatsApp for ignoring his international call-ups and that the players will not be considered for the AFCON finals next year.
Logarusic is now singing a different tune, saying he will not deny anyone a chance but carefully assess the players to ascertain on whose side they are. He said on ZIFA’ s Twitter handle:
We have a situation where new players want to be part of the team, but we are not in a hurry to choose. We will not deny anyone, but we will carefully choose who is for us and who is not.
Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson and former Everton left-back Brendan Galloway are among the stars that have expressed interest to be part of the Warriors’ set-up for the AFCON finals.
Galloway was called up to the Warriors’ squad for the 2017 AFCON finals but did not show up, choosing to be part of the England Under-21 squad that was competing in the Euro Under-21 qualifiers.
Former Warriors midfielder Alois Bunjira was critical of Logarusic’s decision to ostracize the players he considered unpatriotic. He said:
The squad needs to be continuously built. Not the time to stop and starting giving each other mbhasera.
January is still far away and each player will still have to earn their place. Those that helped us qualify, we will give them bonuses and say thank you.
But everyone Zimbabwean has to fight for his place for Afcon 2022.