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Group A assignments with a date against unpredictable Cape Verde at the Estadio Da Varzea this afternoon.
It has been a long marathon that began with so much promise in Monrovia when Norman Mapeza’s men ground out a 1-1 draw with the Lone Star actually being forced to come from behind late on in that game and snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.
Zifa then conspired, in their moment of madness, to cause confusion in the Warriors’ dressing room on the second Group A assignment and crucially Zimbabwe’s first game at home and the result was a lifeless and forgettable 0-0 draw against Cape Verde at the National Sports Stadium in October last year.
In the week leading up to that match the Warriors had three coaches taking charge of them with Belgian Tom Saintfiet briefly working with them before he was deported.
The Zifa board appointed Madinda Ndlovu and Mapeza as co-coaches and if coalitions had worked in politics, that coalition in the senior team never worked.
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To their credit, Zifa corrected the anomaly and Mapeza was reinstalled and given the reins for the trip to Bamako, Mali but when the Warriors fell 1-0 to the Eagles in March, they seemed all but out of the race as they trailed in third place.
But once a Knowledge Musona brace guaranteed the Warriors a 2-1 victory over Mali in the reverse tie at Rufaro and Cape Verde suffered a 1-0 defeat to Liberia in Monrovia, Group A suddenly opened up and Mapeza’s men were back in it.
They have since followed that triumph with another fine 3-0 demolition of the Lone Star and that result has meant there is still all to play for in the group with any of leaders Mali, second-placed Warriors and Cape Verde who are in third place, all being in with a chance to top the group by the close of business tonight.
Warriors skipper Method Mwanjali yesterday reflected on the long journey that they have travelled in this campaign and insisted they were in Praia to conquer the Tubaroes Azuis (Blue Sharks) first before they look at all the qualification permutations.
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Mwanjali said although the Warriors had lost a golden opportunity to beat Cape Verde at the National Sports Stadium and top the group, they had since managed to on from that disappointments as shown by their recent purple patch in which they have also made great strides up the Fifa rankings.
The gifted centre back whose talents deserve to be showcased on the Nations Cup platform attributed the huge improvement in the Warriors’ game to “a better understanding now between the coaches and the players”.
Mwanjali leads the class of Warriors that is rich in potential and ambition that has already received a major vote of confidence from the Zifa leadership and experts like former Zimbabwean international Ian Gorowa who believes Mapeza’s men can go all the way to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
But for all his confidence and optimism ahead of today’s clash against the Blue Sharks Mwanjali was also realistic enough to note that the destiny of their qualification is no longer in their hands as it would have to depend on a number of factors.
The Warriors would have to beat Cape Verde and hope that Liberia upstage Mali in Monrovia or at worst the Lone Star and the Eagles draw as such a scenario would leave them top of group A with the Malians who are a point ahead of Zimbabwe with nine points would slump into second place.
Mwanjali said the fact that that the destiny of their qualification was not entirely in their hands would not deter them from their mission to end their Group A campaign on a winning note.
“It’s the last hurdle and we want to win this game at all costs.
“We don’t want anyone to do us favours or appear to be doing us favours without winning matches for ourselves . . . we just want to finish on a high note and even though we are not used to this kind of weather
where you play in such high temperatures we just want to go out and fight to the end.
“We are aware that even Cape Verde players are complaining that they are not used to playing around the same time but the game was brought forward by the authorities because matches have to be played at the same time.
“We find ourselves in a difficult position because I think it took us a bit long to gel as a team but now we have managed to understand each other from the technical team to the players we know each other in terms of our weaknesses and strengths and we have a lot of youngsters who are willing to learn from the seniors and are also doing well.
“As captain I have been talking the players that we have travelled a long way, we had some hiccups here and there and we cannot afford to lose, we need to back home three points and cheer the sprits of the nation.
“I am happy that we have got 18 players who have one opinion and goal, which is to win and possibly play at the Nations Cup.
“We just have to get a positive result then let things fall into place . . . some people have been talking about Mali/ Liberia but we as players have a job to do in Cape Verde which is to win our game so it is up to us to ourselves a favour by winning tomorrow”.
Mwanjali said although he respected Cape Verde who draw the bulk of their players from the lower leagues in Portugal he felt the draw they had earned in Harare was not because of the Blue Sharks’ capacity.
“When we played them in Harare there was confusion in our camp and it affected the players and we dropped two points but that is now water under the bridge and even if they are a decent side I think we can beat them.
“Yes, they keep the ball very well but we have to be on the offensive and with this weather we have to ensure we keep the ball instead of chasing it so whatever we do we have to also do it with some caution. We have been taking a lot of fluids to try and counter the heat and I think we will still come good,” Mwanjali said.
The Warriors have been looking sharp in training and Mapeza who was due to name his starting team last night has a positive selection headache with the returning pair of Nyasha Mushekwi and Knowledge Musona at his disposal and the likes of Khama Billiat, Ovidy Karuru, Vusa Nyoni, Tinashe Nengomasha, Willard Katsande, the resurgent Tafadzwa Rusike, Zhaimu Jambo and eccentric goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini all having made the trip here.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter