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THE country’s flagship football team, the Warriors, might have not have reached the Promised Land on Tuesday night to book their fourth Afcon place after they played a one-all draw against highly fancied Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but it is almost an open secret that it is a matter of time before this football loving nation says: “Good Morning Cameroon!”
Sunday Chidzambwa’s men put one foot into the 2019 African Cup of Nations finals after they shared spoils with a DRC side on a one-all scoreline on Tuesday, a team they handed a 2-1 home defeat last Saturday.
Picking four points against the star-studded Leopards is not a small achievement and the fact that the Warriors are the only unbeaten team in the group, with two games to go, points to the good.
No wonder, Mark Gleeson, an authoritative voice in African football who has travelled around the continent, has also been charmed by Knowledge Musona’s captain ship.
Interestingly, Gleeson is already looking beyond the qualification phase.
He believes the Warriors have the pedigree to even reach the semi-finals of the 2019 Nations Cup in Cameroon.
“A 2-1 win in Kinshasa, Wow! That’s huge. Few teams win there. I remember you guys (Zimbabwe) getting five there in the 90s.
“This Zimbabwe team has real potential . . . semi-finals at next CAN (Afcon). They will come in under the radar and catch many by surprise,’’ said Gleeson.
The Tuesday night’s draw might have disappointed a home crowd that was ready to party into the night but it remained vital for Chidzambwa’s men as they took a step closer to Dreamland.
It might not have been the kind of showing they had anticipated to put on at home but the Warriors still took the point and will fancy their chances of grinding another result on their next assignment away in Monrovia against Liberia next month.
Just like they did it in the thickest of Kinshasa, against all odds the Warriors can still do it in the Battle of Monrovia and make this success starved nation proud again.
Zimbabwe currently leads the pool with eight points, DRC are on five, Congo-Brazzaville and Liberia have four each.
A win for Zimbabwe in Liberia will take the Warriors to 11 points and no matter what will happen in the other matches, they will be guaranteed to finish in the top two, which secures them an automatic qualification. . . .
Online Reporter