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Grace Chingoma: Senior Sports Reporter

AFTER two years in the wilderness, Zimbabwe international Oscar Machapa returns into the Warriors fold after he was included into the squad which will play Tanzania in a high-profile friendly match at the National Sports Stadium this Sunday.The last time the AS Vita midfielder donned the Warriors jersey was in 2014 during Ian Gorowa’s time in charge and he even helped Zimbabwe finish fourth at the 2014 CHAN finals in South Africa. But the former CAPS United and Dynamos utility player, who can play either as a midfielder or a defender, has revived himself in the DRC where he is now a cult hero.

His impact at the Kinshasa club, which was disqualified by CAF in the Champions League for fielding an ineligible player and were replaced by eventual winners Mamelodi Sundowns, has not gone unnoticed by Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa.

AS Vita had beaten the Pretoria side in the last 16 on the away goals following a 2-2 aggregate.

And Machapa has been drafted into the squad likely to be dominated by foreign-based players as the Warriors get their Nations Cup preparations off the ground. Machapa, together with Sweden-based forward Tino Kadewere, are some of the players the coach has called up for the first time in his squad ahead of the Nations Cup finals in Gabon next January.

It appears Pasuwa has kept faith in most of the players who were part of the AFCON qualifiers with Kaizer Chiefs skipper Willard Katsande expected to lead the South Africa-based players such as the Golden Arrows duo Kuda Mahachi and Danny Phiri home.

Mamelodi Sundowns and Zimbabwe star Khama Billiat has been excused from the game by the coach.

Pasuwa is looking at assessing a number of players in this crucial preparatory match which will be followed by another friendly match against African champions Cote d’Ivoire in Abidjan on Boxing Day.

With the Castle Lager Premiership set to conclude on the weekend of November 27, the training camp may get underway in December. The first phase of Super Diski will run until December 20. However, some of the foreign players like China-based Nyasha Mushekwi and Sweden-based Tino Kadewere have already completed their seasons.

But Helsingborg forward Matthew Rusike might be still committed to the club for a little longer as they finished on 14th position in the Allsvenskan league and will be involved in the relegation play-offs. There is no such headache for Kadewere and his club Djurgardens which finished seventh.