National team coach Milutin Sredojevic has acknowledged Austrian based Chipolopolopo players Patson Daka and Enock Mwepu will be key to Zambia’s qualification for the AFCON and World Cup tournaments.

Speaking when he conferred with the duo prior to their departure for Austria, the Serbian international said Zambia will have to win all the remaining fixtures in the AFCON qualifiers to stand a chance to qualify adding that the two footballers were key.

“We are here in conclusion of AFCON qualifiers where we have four matches left. We need to win four matches in order to qualify to that tournament. And also we are starting world Cup qualifiers for Qatar 2022. We have a lot of work ahead of us including the AFCON qualifiers and World Cup qualifiers for Qatar 2022 against Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea and Tunisia. Where we are right now in the seven step plan is to put the foundation that will lead the pyramid all the way up to fulfill our ambition and you two (Patson and Enock) are very important professional players in your club and we request you to keep in mind the Qatar dream that is supposed to be also yours,” he said.

Micho took Daka and Mwepu through his seven steps technical master plan whose objectives is to ensure qualification for both AFCON and the World Cup.

“We believe that you, together with others are part of the set-up that is supposed to turn this (World Cup) dream of 18 million Zambians into reality. Let us play an attractive brand of football that Zambians will love to see from the body language which will carry the national team jersey with pride.”

Meanwhile Redbull Salzburg star Mwepu, said Micho is courageous enough to help Zambia qualify.

“We had a great time with him and he explained what he wants us to do and we are just looking forward to seeing how we can work everything out but it was a successful meeting. He is a coach who wants to help the national team win for the fans, players, FAZ, government and everyone else involved. He wants to create a relationship where everyone is able to support each other, love one another and play one game. I love his gesture and courageous words and I just pray that his plans and systems during his tenure be successful. Myself and other players are looking forward to help, work with him and give him what he deserves, I think we will have a great time with him,” he said.

And his compatriot, Daka expressed how delighted he was to received guidance from the Serbian trainer.

“He is a great man with good a personality and I think he is a man of values and knows what he wants to achieve and what he expects from us, so I have a direction on what I have to work on and what he expects from me. My target is to do as much as I can to help the team, work as hard as I can to help the team achieve its goals. I will try my best also to do my job because as a striker it’s about helping the team by scoring and in other areas so I just have to continue improving because I have a lot of things to learn.”