Though Zimbabwe won't be competing in the 2008 Africa Cup Of Nations next year in Ghana, team manager Ernest Mapepa Sibanda says his team needs to win its dead rubber qualifier against Malawi on Sunday at Barbourfield Stadium, Bulawayo.

Mapepa said the win would improve the team’s International Federation Of Association Football (FIFA) ranking, which has been in the basement for some time.

Mapepa told Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye that he is counting on younger players he is grooming to represent Zimbabwe at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

More reports from VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe...