Keep the Warriors together: Mapeza

NORMAN Mapeza says he is available to serve his country whenever called upon to do so.

He was appointed to lead the Warriors at the just-ended Four Nations Invitational Tournament in Malawi, where they finished second after losing to Kenya 3-1 in the final.

The semi-final had seen Zimbabwe emerge 6-5 winners over Zambia via penalties. The two teams had played to a 2-2 stalemate in regulation time.

Mapeza, whose task was to oversee this tournament, remains available for future assignments if called upon.

For now he does not know what the future holds.

“I always put it in God’s hands. You can’t plan for tomorrow because you never know what tomorrow brings. This is my country. I have coached and played for this country. If they ask me to be available, l will be available,” said Mapeza.

Whatever the future holds for him, Mapeza hopes the present crop of players are not disbanded.

“I have only trained with these guys for three days. I can’t comment on how the team played in the qualifiers but l can talk about these two games we played here. I think they played good football. With the energy, attitude, speed of play and defending ,we looked very organised. Of course, our first goal against Kenya was an own goal but the movement and cohesion were there. I just wish the federation could keep this group of players. I see a bright future for us,” said Mapeza.

The veteran coach was sent off in the game against Kenya, after protesting some of the decisions made by the referee.

“We had a few shouts for penalties and when I asked the referee what transpired, that’s what triggered everything. From that commotion, maybe I overreacted, but I don’t think I did anything wrong. Their coaches also came onto the pitch,” said Mapeza.

Captain Marshall Munesti was also not happy with the officiating in the final.

“I think some of the decisions by the referee were not good so, I think you guys [journalists] should be interviewing these referees. I think we have to be fair in Africa, maybe bringing VAR to check these things, we are professionals and where we play there’s fairness not what we do in Africa, so, this affects our commitment,” said Munetsi.

He said the Malawi tournament was good preparation for the World Cup Qualifiers in June.

“For us, it wasn’t a loss as we are preparing for June. We could have done better, we have things to learn. Unfortunately, there was an incident that happened in the field of play with the referees. Such incidents tarnish our image as a continent, we need to change and move forward.”

The tournament came in as a boost for Zimbabwe, who rarely play games during international breaks. – @innocentskizoe.