Mbeba speaks on his Warriors call up

DESPITE all the noise surrounding his selection to the national team, defender Andrew Mbeba is looking forward to giving his best for the Warriors and silence his critics in the process.

Mbeba has been out of the Highlanders squad lately with rumours that he is serving an in-house suspension for a disciplinary matter.

His coach, Kelvin Kaindu has been coy with details on Mbeba’s absence.

The player has also chosen not to speak on the matter.

However, his club situation has not stopped new coach Michael Nees from naming him in his squad for the upcoming Afcon qualifiers.

Mbeba says he is focused on getting his first win in Warriors colours.

“First, l want to thank God. Most of all l think it’s been the consistency that has helped me keep getting the call ups.

“I think if l’m picked what will be left for me is to win a game playing for Zimbabwe.

“What is important to me is winning for Zimbabwe, and not to worry much about our opponents, whether it’s Kenya or Cameroon,” said Mbeba.

The defender got his first senior national team call up at the age of 20 for the Chan tournament in 2021.

His full debut was against Rwanda in a 2026 World Cup Qualifier last year.

He will be hoping for more games in Warriors colours.

The Warriors’ campaign starts next week with the Warriors clashing with Kenya’s Harambee Stars at Mandela National Sports Stadium in Kampala, Uganda.

Like Zimbabwe, Kenya does not have a Caf-certified stadium to host international matches.

So Kenya opted for Uganda, where the Warriors will also play host to Cameroon in another Group J match on September 10.

Zifa have set gate prices for their home match with the VVIP ticket going for 100 O00 Shillings (US$27), VIP 50 000 Shillings (US$14) and Rest of Ground 15 000 Shillings (US$4).

The US$1 is worth 3 722 Shillings.

In the next round of qualifiers later in the year, Zimbabwe will be away to Namibia on October 7 before hosting the Brave Warriors on October 15 at a venue to be announced. — @innocentskizoe