Mwase was reacting to Tuesday’s draw for the continent in Cairo which has pitted the Flames against the two West African heavyweights as well as neighbours Mozambique.

Mwase insist the Flames stand a chance of excelling by virtue of being regarded as underdogs.

The Flames’ mentor says, with enough motivation and adequate preparations, his young and energetic troops can stun any team.

“The odds are favoring the two giants, but we have a team that should not be counted out and can produce surprises.

“We just have to prepare well by playing friendly games with good sides,” Mwase said.

Meanwhile Soccer pundits, Higger Mkandawire and Humphreys Mvula, have said they doubt if the Flames have the capacity to qualify for Qatar, at the expense of Cameroon and Ivory Coast, owing to their experience in handling crucial stages of qualification having played at the world stage on several occasions.

The two however says being drawn against the two giants is an opportunity for Mwase to embark on trying new combinations and fine-tuning his team for future competitions.

According to the Confederation of African Football-CAF, the qualifiers starts this October and group winners from their respective groups, at the end of the qualification phase in November next year, shall be drawn against themselves to produce the best five to play in Qatar.