Chronicle Editor
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
PERFORMANCES of foreign-based Warriors’ players will be on the spotlight in the build-up to the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa, with the France-based pair of Tino Kadewere and Marshal Munetsi starting their season with draws.
Kadewere, who missed the last two matches of the 2020/21 season due to a muscle injury, was an unused substitute in Lyon’s 1-1 home draw against Brest on Saturday night.
That Kadewere sat on the bench after regaining his fitness should be good news to the Warriors’ technical team, which is banking on the European contingent for next month’s World Cup qualifiers.
Kadewere started his debut Ligue 1 season on fire, scoring seven goals between October and December last year, but injuries affected his form towards the end of the season.
He finished last season with 10 goals and weighed in with three assists from 33 matches.
He will patiently await his chance, with the hope of featuring in at least two games before Zimbabwe play against Bafana Bafana at the National Sports Stadium in Harare next month.
Midfielder Munetsi played every minute in his side Reims’ 0-0 draw away to Nice on Sunday.
It was a good start for Munetsi who missed Reims match day squad for the last match of the season when they lost 1-0 to Bordeaux.
In the United States of America, defender Teenage Hadebe is still searching for his first win since moving to Houston Dynamo from Turkish topflight side Yeni Malatyaspor.
Hadebe played his fifth game for Dynamo on Sunday and they had no response to Minnesota United’s firepower, succumbing 0-2.
In the previous four games that Hadebe featured for Dynamo, they drew three and lost once.
Aston Villa’s defensive midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, who missed Zimbabwe’s last two Afcon qualifiers against Botswana and Zambia, played 63 minutes as Villa beat Italy’s lower tier side Salernitana 3-1 in a pre-season friendly at Villa Park.
Nakamba, Hadebe, Munetsi and Kadewere are vital to the Warriors’ set-up, and the coaches would be hoping they continue getting game time ahead of the crunch clash against their trans-Limpopo rivals. – @ZililoR
Online Reporter