Macauley Bonne: Maldon striker set to face Salah at Afcon

Zimbabwe have a new head coach in charge, with Romanian Mario Marinica having been appointed in November to replace Michael Nees, having previously been in charge of Malawi and Liberia.

He has a number of England-based players in his squad, including Wolves midfielder Tawanda Chirewa, Sheffield Wednesday’s Sean Fusire, Andy Rinomhota of Reading and Plymouth Argyle defender Brendan Galloway.

For Bonne, though, it is a big step up from his most recent domestic appearance as a substitute in Maldon & Tiptree’s 1-0 Isthmian League North Division win at Redbridge on 29 November in front of a crowd of 152 people.

“Someone needs to get the movie rights to this because it will sell millions at the box office, I’m telling you,” he said.

“It’s the story of my whole career, really, getting setbacks to overcome them. Now I’m playing step four (of non-league), I’m enjoying it, the club, the owners, the players, everyone’s just absolutely top notch.

“They’re all really happy for me. Playing step four and going to a an international tournament, I don’t think it’s ever been done, has it?”

He does have experience of far higher levels to draw on, having played for both Charlton and Queens Park Rangers in the Championship during his career.

Bonne does not expect to be in the starting line-up straight away but hopes he can give Marinica some food for thought when it comes to team selection.

He added: “Every striker wants to score goals, but my aim is to play, just get some minutes, and anything above that is a bonus. If I do that, the next one will be ‘try and put the ball in the back of the net’.”