Andrew
Veronica Gwaze in Pretoria, South Africa
THE Zimbabwe senior netball team has a good chance of making a second appearance at the Netball World Cup, but the margin for error is very low and consistency will be key.
That is the position of Gems head coach, Ropafadzo Mutsauki, whose charges meet Malawi in the first semi-final of the 2023 World Netball Cup Qualifiers in Pretoria, South Africa, on Friday afternoon.
The match starts at 1pm.
After falling 47-68 to South Africa in their final group game, the Gems finished runners-up in Pool A, and now meet Pool B winners, Malawi.
For their part, Malawi finished top of their group after thwarting Zambia 61-49 in their final group game.
Pool A winners, South Africa, meet Zambia in the second semi-final.
Winners from both semi-finals automatically qualify for the World Cup, but by virtue of being the World Cup hosts, South Africa have already qualified.
What this means is that if they finish the qualifiers in the top two, one of the world cup tickets will be passed on to the team that finishes the tournament in position three.
“They have been consistent in all their group matches, and this is what we want today,” said Mutsauki.
“Malawi is a strong side, we need to stick to our own type of play and be consistent, because this is definitely going to be a tough game,” he said.
“After yesterday (Thursday), we identified areas that needed to be looked into, and we did our best so we are ready for the Malawi game,” he said.
The Gems’ mental aptitude and defensive strengths, he said, will win them another World Cup ticket.
“We are already past yesterday’s result, and the girls are now geared for the semi-finals.
“We told them not to put too much pressure on themselves, but instead enjoy the game,” he said.
“Pressure will expose them to a lot of errors, and today there is no room for that.”
Fixtures
13:00 Zimbabwe v Malawi
15:00 South Africa v Zambia
Online Reporter