ZIMBABWE are considering dismantling their national team and hedging their immediate future on Under-23 players as the fallout from their shock Africa Cup of Nations elimination continues.

Coach Ian Gorowa said: "If I had my way, I would disband the national team and start afresh, probably working with the Under-23s, and forget about the current generation, which has failed.

"Most of these guys have been in this national team for four to five years now and we cannot keep relying on them."

Zimbabwe do not have a major tournament to chase qualification for now until the 2017 Afcon and the 2018 World Cup, but in between they can seek some glory at the Cosafa tournament, coming up in Botswana in September, and at the next CHAN tournament in Rwanda in two years' time.

"We can use these young players to play at the Cosafa and CHAN tournaments where we play not to win but to develop and build a strong foundation for the future," said the former Moroka Swallows and Mamelodi Sundowns coach in an interview in the Zimbabwe media.

Zimbabwe's anger follows the defeat on aggregate to Tanzania in the first round of the qualifiers for next year's Afcon tournament in Morocco.

Zimbabwe could not overturn a 0-1 deficit from the first leg in Dar-es-Salaam and only drew 2-2 at home in last Sunday's second leg in Harare to go tumbling out.

Gorowa's frustration with the current crop of players was evident when the likes of Kaizer Chiefs' Willard Katsande and Kingston Nkatha failed to go to Dar-es-Salaam for the first leg.