admin
Tadious Manyepo in BLOEMFONTEIN
RICHARD Hachiro was not part of the original Warriors squad for the 2026 World Cup double-header qualifiers against Lesotho and South Africa.
He didn’t travel with the rest of the players to South Africa where they started camp five days before their first outing against Lesotho last Friday.
But two days before the Warriors battled Lesotho at Orlando Stadium, Tapera sat down with his technical team, including veteran gaffer Sunday “Mhofu” Chidzambwa.
A decision to call up Hachiro was reached and the midfielder arrived on the eve of the match against the Crocodiles, which Zimbabwe would lose 2-0.
He was thrown into the fray for the match against South Africa.
Hachiro ‘s specific task was to frustrate Bafana Bafana mainstay Themba “Mshishi” Zwane.
And, each time Zwane had the ball on his feet, Hachiro made it difficult for him to do what he mostly does.
Three times in the first half, Hachiro retrieved the ball from Zwane and engineered attacks of his own for the team.
Ably complemented by his ultra-defensive colleagues, he did see the team going to the break with the scoreboard reading 1-1.
But once South Africa shifted into cruise gears, Hachiro’s teammates in the middle of the park literally disappeared and left him to run in every space that needed attention.
Zwane did come to life.
“When I was called to travel to South Africa, I was a bit shocked. I knew I was in the team for the COSAFA tournament not the World Cup qualifiers,” he said.
“But, as someone who had previously represented the national team about 15 times before, I knew I had to be prepared.
“But honestly, I was a bit afraid because I have never played at this level before as I have always played at lower levels like COSAFA and CHAN.
“So, when I was named in the First XI, I was like ‘well, me’, but then I just went out there to help my country and fight for the badge.
“I knew Zwane is a good player and I just had to put in the work and try to make it difficult for him and his colleagues to play.
“The idea was to win but unfortunately things didn’t go our way. We live to fight another day.”
Zimbabwe’s legends based in South Africa, led by former Warriors captain Peter Ndlovu, cheered from the stands.
The Warriors sit at the base of the six-team Group C table with only two points from four games but they are only five points behind leaders Rwanda with six games still to play.
Online Reporter