High-ranked officials in some countries are used to giving pep talk to their national teams before crucial games and big sports events.

But it might be the first time a president's speech questions the manager's methods of squad selection.

"Our problem is that we always use the same players and we can really guess the team before they play," Banda told reporters.

"We used to beat countries like Senegal, Ivory Coast with locally based players. I am not saying we should pick local players only, but let’s look deeper.

"Let’s try hard so that if we fail, we will say at least we tried."

Banda was speaking at an official gala, welcoming the African Cup of Nations trophy which is on tour to several African countries.

Zambia host Egypt on Saturday in Group C. They need a point to seal their qualification to the African Cup of Nations in Angola next year.

"We still have a chance to qualify. Let’s put in everything and qualify and not just look at the trophy," the 72-year-old president said.

Egypt need a victory to keep their World Cup qualification chances alive. Algeria top the group with 10 points, three ahead of The Pharaohs with two games to go.