BELIEVE!

take on Mali in a 2012 African Cup of Nations Group A qualifying showdown at Rufaro.
The Warriors go into their biggest battle of this campaign needing nothing short of a win to stay in the picture for the qualification race for a place at the next Nations Cup finals to be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

A run of two draws and a loss has left the Warriors in third place and five points behind leaders Cape Verde who have seven points from three matches.
It is hardly a run that neither Mapeza nor the country’s flagship team had anticipated when they began national duty with promise, courtesy of a brave 1-1 draw against Liberia in Monrovia last year.

Mapeza, who distinguished himself as captain of the Warriors with consistent performances and leadership qualities, knows that the time to deliver results is now and yesterday he admitted that he would be as much under the spotlight as will be his charges in tomorrow’s game.

For all the debate stirred by his appointment after the ill-fated and controversial engagement of Belgian Tom Saintfiet, and the circus by Zifa to later appoint Mapeza as co-coach with Madinda Ndlovu for the Cape Verde match, te former Warriors skipper is fully aware that only a positive result will matter tomorrow.

The former Monomotapa coach, who has had an on-off romance with the national team’s coaching post, also acknowledged the pressure that comes with his job and noted that it was different from that of being a player.

But Mapeza appeared calm, and yet in high spirits, as the Warriors wound up the major part of their training at the match venue yesterday morning.
The 39-year-old gaffer believes his side is ready to put behind the disappointment of their failure to win in their opening three games.

Mapeza also expressed satisfaction with the manner in which his players had prepared for the showdown with Mali and reckoned that “if they can keep their shape and implement what we have been doing at training then we should not go wrong”.

“Everything has been going on well for us now after those setbacks we had suffered with injuries to some players.
“We have managed to complete our last two days of full training with a full squad which is like a big bonus for us.

“This morning we have been working on ball possession and our reaction after losing the ball because for us to get the goals we need to have more of the ball and that has been our emphasis.
“Keeping shape is very important, it is important that from defence going upfront we retain our shape and have positional discipline,” Mapeza said.

The Warriors coach said the need to get their first full set of points could not be over-emphasised given the precarious position that his team find themselves in on the Group A standings where they are also four points behind the Eagles.

Unlike the Warriors who are still to win even at home, Mali and Cape Verde have built their campaigns so far on solid shows on their home turf where both of them have won twice.
It is against this background that not even a draw will suffice to keep alive the Warriors’ hopes for a return to the Nations Cup jamboree where they last featured in 2006 in Egypt.

That was only Zimbabwe’s second appearance in the tournament’s long history and expectations have been high that this class of Warriors can help the country return to that grand stage.
Mapeza knows as much but also insisted on the need for his charges to keep their focus despite all the pressure that has built around them ahead of the big game.

“We need to win and if we win it will brighten our chances of remaining in the qualifying race because we will also have two more games after this one.
“It would be the first win for me as coach and for some of the young guys who in the squad but I must say pressure has always been there since our first game in Liberia.

“It is about results at the end of the day and it is a good challenge at times and these things can be expected in football.
“In terms of pressure it is much better being a player than to be a coach.

“But after doing our preparations we now have to sit down as a technical team and come up with the right team but the good thing is that everybody has been doing well in training”.
Mapeza also spoke briefly about their reverse fixture with Mali in Bamako and said they had worked on correcting the mistakes that led to their 1-0 defeat.

“In Bamako we did not keep our shape properly especially on the right side from midfield going back into defence.
“I thought there wasn’t good communication there and we also didn’t make much use of the ball in that match.

“Creation of chances comes from keeping the ball and having the positive mind to go forward and that is what we have been working hard to try to achieve,” Mapeza said.
With all the 21 players who have been in camp fit for selection, Mapeza and his assistant Joey Antipas and goalkeepers’ coach Richard Tswatswa face a positive selection headache in coming up with the men who

will be trusted to deliver before an expected full house at Rufaro tomorrow.
With Ajax Cape Town’s Khama Billiat, Edward Sadomba, Nyasha Mushekwi, Quincy Antipas and Knowledge Musona looking sharp in training it will be a close call on who will be thrust to lead the line of attack.

Tomorrow’s game also presents Billiat and his friend Musona with a chance to take to the international stage, the telepathy they had forged at Aces Youth Academy before they left for Ajax Cape Town and Kaizer Chiefs respectively.

Mali, eager to avoid another defeat on the road, are likely to pack their midfield and possibly use a lone striker and that means midfielders Tinashe Nengomasha, Justice Majabvi, Ovidy Karuru and Billiat would have to fashion a way of helping their strikers open up the West Africans.

Similarly, skipper Method Mwanjali and his defence cannot afford to give room to the Eagles to steal an away point, let alone a victory from fortress Rufaro.
For all the hard work they have been through, all week there was time for some fun at the end of their morning session yesterday as the Warriors broke into song and dance to celebrate long-serving coach Tswatswa’s 54th birthday.

The unassuming Tswatswa, who has seen duty at a number of clubs including CAPS United , Motor Action and the now defunct Pronutro, later shared with the squad the big cake that had been brought for him by his daughter.

But Tswatswa reckoned that victory in tomorrow’s big battle could be the best present that the Warriors could give him.
Tswatswa will now be hoping that whoever Mapeza, Antipas and he decide to give the responsibility to guard goal between any of Washington Arubi, Tapuwa Kapini and Marlon Jani will do their job diligently.