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Grace Chingoma, Harare Bureau
WARRIORS’ coach, Joey Antipas, has challenged his players to turn on the show despite the sideshows that have stalked their 2022 World Cup qualifier against Somalia in Djibouti tomorrow.
It’s the first international match, in about eight years, which the Warriors will play without either Khama Billiat or Knowledge Musona in their line-up.
The match starts at 5pm and the Warriors will host the reverse fixture at Barbourfields on Sunday.
The match has been overshadowed by reports the coach was ordered not to consider some of the team’s best players while Zifa also came up with contracts with vastly-reduced earnings for the Warriors.
Six players — goalkeeper Talbert Shumba, Peter Muduhwa, McClive Phiri, Sipho Ndlovu, Tichaona Chipunza and Phineas Bamusi, together with nine officials, left for Djibouti yesterday.
They were set to spend the night in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, before connecting to Djibouti this morning.
The home-based Warriors are expected to link up with their South Africa-based counterparts in Addis Ababa this morning before proceeding to Djibouti.
The South Africa-based players were scheduled to fly from OR Tambo International Airport at around midnight and arrive in Ethiopia in the early hours of today.
The Europe-based quartet of Teenage Hadebe, Admiral Muskwe, Alec Mudimu and Marshal Munetsi were also scheduled to leave their bases yesterday and also arrive today.
Although, the travel arrangements will leave the team with just one session to loosen up and have a feel of the match venue tonight, Antipas says the players should deliver.
“What we are telling the players is that they have to come up with a good performance,’’ he said.
“Some players have been given an opportunity and they have to prove their worth.
“I would have wanted all the players at my disposal but we have to work with what is there.
“We didn’t have time to train and will only have a day to train and come up with some combinations but I trust my instincts that it’s going to be alright.
“They are all professionals and, hopefully, we will deliver.’’
He expects a tough game although Somalia are ranked one of the weakest football nations in the world.
“It is going to be a challenging game, we don’t know much about the Somalis,’’ he said.
“As much as they are minnows in the game of football we cannot take them for granted.’’
The Warriors are returning to the World Cup after being barred from the qualifiers for the tournament held in Russia last year.
Zifa ignored repeated warnings from Fifa to settle a debt owed to former coach Valinhos of Brazil and the team was thrown out of the qualifiers.
Online Reporter