Online ReporterCurtworth Masango
WARRIORS stand-in captain Marshall Munetsi says focus should now be on preparing for the AFCON finals in Morocco and feels the Warriors would have done better if they had played their World Cup qualifiers at home.Yesterday, the Warriors lost 0-1 to Rwanda after losing by a similar scoreline to Benin on Friday.
Munetsi led the team yesterday in the absence of suspended captain Marvelous Nakamba.Despite the two back-to-back losses, Munetsi was proud of the team’s performance.
“Our main priority now is to prepare for AFCON.”
Munetsi remains optimistic about the team’s future.”We will take it one step at a time and I am confident that we’ll bounce back stronger.
“We will focus on preparing for AFCON and giving it our best.”We obviously miss Marvelous Nakamba but we had a strong squad and did well given the situation.
“We created a lot of chances and, in the second half, we pushed hard for a win.“Our target now is to prepare for AFCON as we won’t be able to qualify for the World Cup.”
Munetsi highlighted the team’s growth and resilience throughout the qualifiers.”We have had our challenges, especially with travel and fitness but I’m proud of how we are moving forward.
“Losing is not what we want but we can take it one step at a time and improve every day.”The Warriors’ next round of World Cup qualifiers are against Lesotho and South Africa next month.
Munetsi said a return to the National Sports Stadium was key as they were missing the advantage of playing at home.”There’s a real advantage of playing at home in Zimbabwe.
“Most of us were born and raised there, so the National Sports Stadium feels like a true home ground.“We struggle more when we play away without that supportive home atmosphere.
“While we had a great turnout today, it’s still not the same as a packed National Sports Stadium.“We were hoping to play our September games there but, unfortunately, it didn’t work out.
“However, we can’t focus on that.”
Zvokwadi, you cannot blame a team that does not have a home. To expect it to win under such circumstances is a joke. Kusangorongeka. There are several low cost options other than the NSS. Stadiums which would have taken very little time to convert to FIFA AFCON standards. Just three months is all it would have taken. But seven years down the line we still have nothing.