adminagainst old enemies Malawi.
As the Cosafa Cup burst into life champions Zimbabwe actually had divided attention as they followed proceedings on two different fronts in Blantyre, Malawi and Zambia.
The Warriors, winners of the last edition of the Cosafa Cup in 2009 on home soil, do not swing into action until July 13 when they clash against the Flames of Malawi in the first of the quarter-final matches at Nkoloma.
Klaus Dieter Pagels and his men are in fact set to resume their Cosafa Cup preparations in Harare today with the tall coach expected to return from his native Germany yesterday.
Despite still to seal a possible extension to his contract with Zifa, Pagels returned to Harare on Saturday and is expected to lead the Warriors when they begin the defence of their Cosafa Cup title in five days’ time.
The Warriors, record four-time Cosafa champions, were together with seeded teams like hosts Zambia, South Africa, Angola, Mozambique and Malawi, given a bye from the group games.
Although the Cosafa Cup, making a return on the regional football landscape after a four-year hiatus, started on Saturday with the preliminary round group games, the Warriors were keenly following the progress of one team in Group A – Mauritius – who they must face in an African Nations Championships qualifier in Antananarivo, exactly a week after the end of this tournament.
While the CHAN encounter is only slated for the George V stadium in the Indian Ocean Island on July 28, Mauritius’ participation here has given the Warriors a platform to make a close assessment of their opponents.
Assistant coach Lloyd Mutasa made it clear just before the start of the Cosafa tournament that they would want to use the Group A games to study Mauritius before they meet them in the rescheduled CHAN fixture.
“It is going to be an advantage to us that we will have a chance to closely look at Mauritius before we meet them for the CHAN tournament.
“We are also happy that the CHAN assignment is coming soon after the Cosafa because we will have more time with the guys in camp,’’ Mutasa said.
Mauritius got their Cosafa Cup campaign underway with a 2-1 defeat by Namibia but not before they put on a spirited second half fight that forced a frenetic end to the game.
Although Mauritius fell to the Namibians, the Warriors’ technical department would be the first to acknowledge that they cannot underestimate the islanders.
Mutasa, his boss Pagels will get another opportunity to look at Mauritius in their Indian Ocean derby clash against Seychelles in their next group game at Nkana stadium in Kitwe on Wednesday.
All the 20 matches in this year’s Cosafa Cup are being broadcast live on SuperSport across three channels which should help the Warriors to follow proceedings here even before they have set foot into Lusaka.
Mauritius coach Akbar Patel felt his team who only came to life in the second half and enjoyed the neutral support of the Zambians, could have still won the match had they started well.
“In the first half we didn’t play good football and we did well in the second half but we need to play the ball in both halves if we are to start winning matches,” Patel said.
Namibia who arrived at this tournament in confident mood following their 1-1 draw with African champions Nigeria got their goals through Pinehas Jakob and Petrus Shitembi while 32-year-old forward Jean Stephan Pierre, one of a number of the Mauritian old guard here, pulled one back for his side.
While most teams have opted for the majority of the younger players for this Cosafa tournament, Mauritius have placed faith in their old guard with their 35-year-old goalkeeper Joe Ivahn Marie Jose being one of the oldest players to line up for matches.
The Warriors were also keenly interested in events in the Flames camp were their short-lived Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet is now in charge.
The Flames were also in action on Saturday, albeit in an international friendly against Mozambique at Civo stadium in Blantyre as part of Malawi’s Independence celebrations where they fell 1-0 to the Mambas.
But after a poor run in which Pagels and his men are still to register a win in competitive action since the German took over, this Cosafa tournament provides them with a platform for redemption and to stop their monumental slide down the Fifa world rankings.
Meanwhile, Botswana and Swaziland drew 0-0 in a group game in Kitwe yesterday.
Online Reporter