adminZimbabwe prepare for their final onslaught on the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifier with a cagey away assignment against Cape Verde in Praia next month.
The Warriors, seeking to secure a place at next year’s continental soccer showpiece, which will be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, will take on Cape Verde in their final Group A qualifier in Praia on October 8.
On the same day group leaders Mali, a point ahead of the Warriors, will visit bottom-placed Liberia in Monrovia and the Confederation of African Football have ordered that all the deciding group games be played at the same time.
This means the Warriors against Cape Verde tie will kick-off at 2pm Cape Verde time, which will be 5pm here with the match in Monrovia, also getting underway at the same time which will be 4pm in the Liberian capital. But the Warriors – who need nothing short of victory and will also be hoping that Liberia upstage or hold Mali in order for them to win Group A – received a major boost with the availability for the decisive encounter of their first choice striking partnership of Musona and Mushekwi.
Musona missed out on the Warriors’ penultimate Group A assignment against Liberia at the National Sports Stadium which the hosts won 3-0, owing to an injury sustained in his first full week of training at his German Bundesliga outfit TSG Hoffenheim.
But the 21-year-old former Kaizer Chiefs hit man confirmed his return to fitness when he came on as a 63rd minute substitute in a 3-1 winning cause for Hoffenheim over VfL Wolfsburg at the weekend.
Warriors’ team manager Sharrif Mussa, in announcing the side that will do duty for Zimbabwe in the final onslaught, said a fit-again Musona was naturally welcome news for the senior team and its followers.
“I have not yet spoken to Knowledge but it is just good news to know that he is back in training and that he actually came on as a substitute for his team in their Bundesliga game,” Mussa said.
Big centre forward Mushekwi, pipped to the Golden Boot by a single goal by Musona in his maiden dance with South Africa’s Super Diski, also returns to the Warriors fold after sitting out the match against Liberia because of suspension.
Mushekwi, who plays for Mamelodi Sundowns, had accumulated two yellow cards in the earlier Group A games but having served his time, coach Norman Mapeza did not hesitate to recall the bustling striker back to national duty.
The return of Mushekwi also meant that there would be no place for his Sundowns’ teammate Simba Sithole or Dynamos hitman Cuthbert Malajila in the 18-man side that will travel to Praia for the big battle.
Mapeza restored normalcy in the Warriors attack by naming Al-Hilal hitman Edward Sadomba, Musona and Mushekwi as the three strikers.
Malajila had bounced back into the Warriors owing to the non-availability of Musona and Mushekwi while rookie forward Sithole has increasingly found himself falling down the senior team’s pecking order.
In-form Kaizer Chiefs centre back Thomas Sweswe also returns to the Warriors fold after serving a one-match ban.
Sweswe just like Mushekwi had picked up two yellow cards prior to the Warriors match against Liberia.
The former Dynamos defender has enjoyed a good start to Kaizer Chiefs’ 2011-12 Premiership season and on Saturday afternoon Sweswe was voted the man of the match in the Soweto derby clash against old enemies Orlando Pirates which Amakhosi won 2-1 at the FNB Stadium.
Mussa also revealed that the coaches had handed a recall to another Kaizer Chiefs defender Zhaimu Jambo who will replace Qadr Amini in the squad.
Qadr is a good player but he has not seen a lot of game time while Zhaimu has been playing regularly of late and is obviously more experienced,” Mussa said.
Sprightly winger Quincy Antipas, injured in the game against Liberia has also been left out of the side that, however, retained familiar faces like skipper Method Mwanjali, Belgian-based Vusa Nyoni, veteran
midfielder Tinashe Nengomasha and eccentric goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini.
Jambo’s inclusion also means that Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs provide the biggest number of players to the Warriors as midfielders Lincoln Zvasiya and Willard Katsande have also been retained.
Although the Warriors’ technical team appear ready for the final push, they were, by late yesterday, still to get feedback from Zifa on the travel arrangements for their trip to the Atlantic Ocean island.
“We submitted our preferred travel arrangements to Zifa given the complexity that is associated with traveling to a place like Cape Verde but we are a little disappointed that up to now the office is still to confirm anything or give us feedback.
“Obviously, the first choice would have been to go by charter but once that fell out of plan we had suggested that we leave Harare on a Monday evening with the local players, pick the South African contingent in Johannesburg later that night and proceed to Praia via Dakar, Senegal and use the same route on return.
“Because of the limited time that we have we have only announced the 18 that will travel because we wanted to leave early and make use of our training time in Cape Verde.
“This would mean that all the other players would travel straight from their bases to Cape Verde which is less cumbersome than having to come home first and try and fly out again.
“If we are to get our preferred itinerary then it would mean that we would leave Cape Verde later on the night of the game and we should be back home on Sunday 10 October,” Mussa said.
But with the Zifa board having resolved at their last meeting on September 9 to pull out all the stops in ensuring that the Warriors do not have much hiccups on their trip to Cape Verde, Mussa and his team might just be granted their wish to leave for Praia early.
Warriors squad:
Goalkeepers:
Tapuwa Kapini, Washington Arubi
Defenders
Method Mwanjali, Thomas Sweswe, Daniel Veremu, Gilbert Mapemba, Tapiwa Khumbuyani, Vusa Nyoni, Zhaimu Jambo
Midfielders
Tinashe Nengomasha, Willard Katsande, Lincoln Zvasiya, Ovidy Karuru, Khama Billiat, Tafadzwa Rusike
Strikers:
Knowledge Musona, Nyasha Mushekwi, Edward Sadomba.
Online Reporter