Zimbabwe coach Sunday Chidzambwa will use the forthcoming Four Nations tournament in Zambia to examine his defensive options as he looks to shore up an area which has proved to be the team's weakest link in recent times.
Zimbabwe are scheduled to play Zambia on March 22 at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, with South Africa clashing against Angola in the other semi final. The winners will meet in the final on March 25, with the losing semi-finalists also scheduled to clash on the same day.
The timing for the tournament could not have been better for Chidzambwa, who has been craving for exactly this kind of opportunity ahead of the resumption of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in September.
Semi-final adversaries and hosts Zambia certainly represent a stern test for the Warriors, who are without star forwards Knowledge Musona, Khama Billiat and Kuda Mahachi, all of whom are injured.
Skipper Musona has just resumed light training after six weeks on the treatment table, but is not in a position to return to the field.
While Chidzambwa will regret a missed opportunity to work with his full complement of stars, the absences give him a chance to cast an eye over other options, with the likes of Talent Chawapiwa, Silas Songani, Ovidy Karuru and Wales-based Alec Mudimu all eager to impress.
The attacking positions are however the least of the coach's worries, with the task of constructing a watertight defence the Warriors' primary objective after they've developed a worrying tendency to leak goals.
Zimbabwe's chances of making headway in the 2019 qualifiers hinge primarily on the progress Chidzambwa makes on closing the defensive gaps which were all too evident in Gabon at the 2017 AFCON.
Fresh faces are needed in both full-back positions, while some refinement is also overdue in central defence.
The squad for the Four Nations confirms Chidzambwa's eagerness to address those concerns, with Diaspora products Adam Chicksen and Cliff Moyo pencilled to audition for the two full-back roles.
Kaizer Chiefs centre-half Teenage Hadebe meanwhile will look to impress Chidzambwa after making his first competitive start in the 3-0 win over Liberia in the opening round of the 2019 AFCON qualifiers last June.
Chidzambwa has also recalled 32-year-old veteran Costa Nhamoinesu, who, like Hadebe, is left-footed and has mostly featured at left-back for Czech Republic giants Sparta Prague this term.
Regrettably, there was no place for Platinum star Kelvin Moyo, with the only other central defender in the team being Yadah FC's Jimmy Dzingai.
On the Diaspora additions, it will be interesting to see whether Moyo and Chicksen have the quality to give Zimbabwe some much needed dynamism in wide areas.
Chicksen, 26, has 15 appearances for League One outfit Bradford City this term and will look to nail down the left-back position vacated by SuperSport's Onismo Bhasera.
Chidzambwa has also called up Chicken Inn's Devine Lunga as cover, while the other option for the position, Edwin Madhananga of FC Platinum, has been overlooked.
Moyo, on the other hand, comes to fill in at right-back, a position which has proved a headache for successive Warriors coaches in recent years. The 24-year-old left Zimbabwe as a nine-year-old to join his parents in England, where he is now a regular starter for FC Halifax Town in the English fifth tier.
He describes himself as hard worker who still has some work to do on the technical side of things.
"I thrive on one vs. one defending and not letting a winger beat me," he told the Halifax Courier recently. "My playing style is getting up and down the pitch as much as I can.
"Technically I'm not great but I don't look out of place," he added. "Because I didn't grow up in an academy I've had to work twice as hard to get my technical ability.
"I'm not saying I'm terrible but within myself I know I can do better."
There is a pair of interesting new names in midfield too, with Orlando Pirates' Marshall Munetsi and Mudimu coming in to bolster both the attacking and defensive side of matters.
Munetsi, 21, has impressed immensely with his box-to-box qualities since breaking into the Pirates set up at the beginning of the year, while Mudimu looks to be quite a prospect after netting six goals in 23 appearances for Cefn Druids in the Welsh Premier League.
The 22-year-old Mudimu recently had trials at League One sides Rochdale Town and Fleetwood United, and Druids boss Huw Griffiths is happy that his star has finally been rewarded with a Warriors call up.
"It's great for Alec, who has been great for us," Griffiths told the Leaderlive website. "We've got Naim Arsan in the Wales C squad and Alec in the Zimbabwe national team so it's great for the two players."
In attack, Chidzambwa has made a couple of surprise calls with Egypt-based Abbas Amidu and Silas Songani of Danish top-flight side SønderjyskE making the trip to Zambia. Both have been struggling for game time at their respective clubs.
Amidu boasts just one goal in eight appearances since joining Entab El Harby in the Egyptian Premier League last September, playing just 56 minutes in the team's last 16 matches.
Songani is enduring a similarly woeful time in Denmark, where he is yet to kick a ball after rejoining SønderjyskE at the beginning of the year following a loan spell at Elevrum in the Danish second tier.
Full Zimbabwe squad
Goalkeepers: Takabva Mawaya (ZPC Kariba), Edmore Sibanda (Witbank Spurs, South Africa), George Chigova (Polokwane City, South Africa)
Defenders: Costa Nhamoinesu (AC Sparta Prague, Czech Republic), Praise Tonha (Caps United), Jimmy Dzingai (Yadah Stars), Teenage Hadebe (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa), Devine Lunga (Chicken Inn), Adam Chicksen (Bradford City, England), Cliff Moyo (Halifax, England)
Midfielders: Marvelous Nakamba (Club Brugge, Belgium), Talent Chawapiwa (Baroka, South Africa), Aleck Mudimu (Cefn Druids, Wales), Butholezwe Ncube (AmaZulu, South Africa), Marshall Munetsi (Orlando Pirates, South Africa), Tinotenda Kadewere (Djurgarden IF, Sweden)
Strikers: Evans Rusike (SuperSport United, South Africa), Ovidy Karuru (AmaZulu, South Africa) Silas Songani (Sonderjyske, Denmark), Abbas Amidu (Entag El Harby, Egypt)