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An expectant nation expects nothing short of victory for their beloved Warriors who carry a comfortable lead and need at least a draw or a low scoring loss to secure their ticket to next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals scheduled for South Africa in January. If they qualify it would be the third time that the Warriors join the elite group of Africa’s finest footballers at the continental showcase after having qualified for the 2004 and 2006 finals in Egypt and Tunisia respectively.
Securing a ticket to South Africa can only enhance their standing among Africa’s best footballing countries. Football is the number one sport in Zimbabwe and is followed by millions of people and the Warriors carry the hopes and aspirations of multitudes of people making theirs an arduous task that has to be executed with ruthless efficiency. We expect nothing less from them seeing as everything has been laid out for the national senior soccer team to succeed.
In this vein, we salute the Mzansi 90 committee which on Thursday night surpassed its $500 000 fund-raising target by $24 000 during a gala dinner in honour of the Warriors. We also pay tribute to Mbada Diamonds for chipping in with $180 000 and in the process paying the full cost of the charter flight that took the Warriors to Luanda last night. Their gesture took their financial package for this particular match to $380 000 after the company came up with the seed capital of $200 000 for the Mzansi 90 fundraising efforts.
The latest developments mean that the Warriors are fully catered for in terms of camping, allowances, winning bonuses, flight tickets, accommodation and other logistics and will have no excuses if they fall in Angola. In fact, preparations for this encounter rank among the best for the senior national soccer team throwing down the gauntlet to Rahman Gumbo and his men to ensure that the nation bursts into spontaneous merry-making and partying come the end of 90 minutes tomorrow evening. The build up to the match has been smooth with foreign based players turning up on time to give the coach and his technical team enough time to prepare them tactically for this crucial tie.
With the addition of six experienced players in the mould of Tinashe Nengomasha, Knowledge Musona, Kingstone Nkatha, Cuthbert Malajila, Edward Sadomba and Energy Murambadoro, the Warriors can only get better and we expect them to deliver a disciplined and gritty performance tomorrow. Following the clearance of more players from the Asiagate scandal, the Warriors technical team has a positive selection headache and we trust the coaches will come up with the best 18 troops to do battle against the Angolans who are reportedly fancying their chances of overturning the first leg deficit and breaking the hearts of millions of soccer loving Zimbabweans.
Soccer has gone through turbulent times in the past few years with the Asiagate scandal threatening to taint the image of the beautiful game in the country and qualification for the Afcon finals next year will not only lift the morale and spirits of Zimbabweans but will also go a long way towards restoring the good image of football in the country and the world at large. It is gratifying to note that Zimbabweans from all walks life came together to support the Warriors in their hour of need.
The ball is now firmly in their court. There are no excuses. The Warriors are expected to deliver. This generation of Warriors has an opportunity to be heroes. They have the pedigree and mentality strength to withstand all that can be thrown at them be it bad officiating, mind games and a hostile reception. They should know that they have an entire nation rooting for them. In addition a small number of fans will accompany them. The stage is set and we wait with bated breath. Go Warriors Go.
Online Reporter