THE Warriors will play African football powerhouse Cote d’Ivoire in a friendly international on December 26 as part of their preparations for the 2017 Afcon finals, Zifa president Philip Chiyangwa has said.

The match will be played in Abidjan.

Chiyangwa said he is in talks with a number of Football Associations with a view of organising as many friendly matches as possible for the senior national team.

The flamboyant Zifa president has so far secured friendlies against Zambia (November 5), Tanzania (November 13).

African champions Cote d’Ivoire are the latest addition.

“We will play Ivory Coast on Boxing Day,” Chiyangwa revealed during a media briefing this afternoon.

“Most of our players will be in the country during that time for their Christmas holiday so there is no extra cost of flying them in from their respective bases.”

The match against Africa’s number 1 team will afford Coach Kallisto Pasuwa a good measure of what to expect in Gabon when he leads his men against the continent’s football aristocracy.
The West Africans boast of a squad with an array of stars playing their club football across Europe among them Eric Bailly who was a revelation for English giants Manchester United before picking up a knee injury a couple of weeks ago.

Chiyangwa also said he is sitting on a program from the Warriors technical team which the coaches want to be followed ahead of the Gabon finals in January 2017.