Last Tuesday, Chipolopolo coach Avram Grant announced a 27-man provisional squad for his team’s Group E 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Morocco and Tanzania.

Cagliari striker Kingston Mutandwa, who made history on Thursday by becoming only the second Zambian player to score in the Italian Serie A, is among those called up.

The former Atletico Lusaka striker gave Cagliari a 2-1 lead in the 85th minute, just seven minutes after coming off the bench against Fiorentina, but his team squandered the lead to lose 2-3 in their season finale.

The 21-year-old striker was handed his debut appearance in Serie A by Claudio Ranieri in March in a 1-0 away win over Empoli after being subbed on in the 87th minute.

Following his debut, Ranieri, who announced his retirement from club football, said, “I like King; he’s young and never gives up. He has the right spirit and that’s why I threw him in.”

Mutandwa went on to make four appearances in Serie A, earning himself a senior national team call-up.

‘He needs to prove himself’- Mutandwa

Grant explained why he called Mutandwa for the World Cup qualifiers, saying he sees Mutandwa as a promising talent who can help the team, which is short on natural strikers.

“He is a good talent. I saw him in training. He has quality that can help us. It’s a position that we are struggling. We don’t have enough strikers,” Grant said in an exclusive interview with BolaNews.

Grant continued: “We have Patson Daka and we need more natural strikers… So I took him because I think he’s a good prospect.

“I’m happy that he scored in his last game [for Cagliari] …… And the fact that we don’t have enough strikers, he has a chance but now he needs to prove himself.”

The Chipolopolo Boys will face the Atlas Lions in Agadir on June 7. They will host the Taifa Stars four days later at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.

READ MORE: List of Zambian players to score in Europe’s top five leagues