TENDAYI Darikwa is watching Zimbabwe’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign with pride and admits ‘the door is open’ for representing The Warriors in the future.

The 25-year-old qualifies for Zimbabwe through his dad, who was born in the country, and came close to representing Callisto Pasuwa’s team during the qualifiers for the 2017 tournament in Gabon only for passport issues to scupper any chance.

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Darikwa is keen to concentrate on his club football at the moment and breaking into the Burnley first team, having made his third cup start of the season in the win over Sunderland on Tuesday.

But he did watch Zimbabwe’s 2-2 draw with Algeria on Sunday and will tune in again tonight at 7pm as they face Senegal in their second group game.

“It’s been a while since they’ve qualified, I think the last time they were in was 2004 and 2006,” said Darikwa.

“I watched the game at the weekend, they got a 2-2 draw against Algeria. It’s a bit like ourselves (Burnley), I don’t think anyone gave them a chance. I can see they’re confident and they’re playing well so hopefully they can do it again.”

Five of Zimbabwe’s AFCON squad ply their trade in Europe, and Darikwa added: “There’s a few European-based players and a lot of them play in the South African league.

“I’ve done a bit of research on them and they look good to be honest. After the game I was very impressed with them.

“It’s great for them to be there and hopefully they can do well.”

Darikwa has taken great pride in Zimbabwe’s achievements in qualifying for the 2017 tournament, and only a late Riyad Mahrez goal stopped them from beating Algeria in their opener.

The Warriors finish their group matches with a game against Tunisia on Monday and will be hoping to reach the knockout stages for the first time in their history, with the top two qualifying for their last eight.

That would be a huge achievement for a nation ranked 103rd in the world considering the strength of their group.

And the Clarets full-back admits he could be keen to playing for Zimbabwe in the future.

“The door’s definitely open,” he said. “My dad’s from there and I’m very proud of my heritage. Maybe in the near future it might happen.

“It’s a big tournament, some of the world’s best players, past and present, have played in it. Maybe one day, but at the minute the focus is on Burnley.”