Warriors in do or die

Fungai Muderere

SQUEAKY bum time!

The Zimbabwe Warriors African dream has come to its final moments as the team heads into the last crucial Group G Confederation of African Football (Caf) Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Congo Brazzaville.

All that is needed is a draw to set a date in the Afcon tournament. It’s an all familiar story and Sunday Chidzambwa, the first coach to take the Warriors to the Afcon finals after ending his coaching romance with Dynamos in 1999, is set to deliver.

It’s a great prize that every soccer loving Zimbabwean is longing for, 15 years after Warriors made their maiden appearance at the Afcon finals when they matched the Pharaohs of Egypt pound for pound before losing 1-2.

Against a backdrop of so near yet so far Warriors’ misses of qualifying for the African soccer jamboree, chief among them being the 1991 experience when Moses Chunga’s captained ship needed a win against Congo Brazzaville at the National Sports Stadium to qualify for the 1992 Afcon finals in Senegal and led 2-1 until the 92nd minute when they conceded a last gasp goal courtesy of a John Sibanda howler that has become “infamous” over the passage of time, on Sunday Knowledge Musona and company, interestingly against the same opponents,  will not need any chameleonic caution to greatly consider righting the wrong of 1991.

Zimbabwe’s chronic failures, especially at the last hurdle, cannot be over emphasised and come Sunday, a sea change in attitude and approach is expected.

Now, what we demand from the boys is for them to go onto the field and represent their country with pride because this mission is not for them alone, but for Zimbabwe and their success tends to cheer the spirits of this nation.

The Warriors have always been one of the most supported national football teams on the continent and, after having finally ended the pain for their fans by delivering tickets to the Nations Cup finals in Tunisia (2004), Egypt (2006), Gabon (2017), they can be guaranteed there will be a lot of supporters singing in their corner on Sunday.

From Musona, Tino Kadewere, Teenage Hadebe, Khama Billiat, George Chigova, Sibanda, Danny “Deco” Phiri, Kudakwashe Mahachi, Devine Lunga, Knox Mutizwa, Talent Chawapiwa and Evans Rusike among others, a spellbinding team performance, blistering battle cry whose vibes must be heard in the thickets of Brazzaville, is all that this soccer loving nation demands.

However, an over-reliance on the goal-scoring prowess of striker captain and striker Musona will be suicidal for a positive result — a win or a draw.

Musona, undoubtedly the first name on the team sheet when fit, has scored four goals in this qualifying campaign but everyone in the team just needs to punch above their weight.

By their standards, Musona, Billiat and Mahachi have had unexciting experiences at their respective clubs and Chidzambwa and his crew should have enough expertise to get the three players to the best possible level, just for the sake of this soccer crazy nation.

The boys in green and gold will do duty on home turf but it should be registered at the back of their minds that in modern day football, playing at home is no longer a guaranteed ticket to achievement as the game has completely changed.

Chidzambwa’s men lead Group G with eight points ahead of their last game. Their rivals, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Liberia contest in their own do or die tie as they have seven and six points respectively and it is in this regard that we say, first the Warriors have to qualify at a time when “everybody” thinks they have done that already.

On the other hand, as the Warriors ship seeks its way to Egypt, a narrative laden with pessimism is also in the air.

However, gritty Warriors midfielder, Phiri, a veteran of many national team battles, says: “Against all odds it can still be done. The fate is in our hands. We have to do the nation proud. We will only underestimate our opponents at our own peril.”

Come Monday, we look forward to seeing newspaper headlines read: Hold on Cairo, Here Comes Zim, Good Morning Egypt, Warriors Nick It . . .

Go Warriors Go!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *