Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
WHEN the final whistle blew at the National Sports Stadium on Wednesday, the scoreboard told a cruel story of Zimbabwe falling 0-3 to Mali in the 2027 Under-23 AFCON Qualifiers denting their hopes of progressing into the next round.
For the Young Warriors, this was a harsh return to continental junior football.
Their last taste of this stage was in 2019 when they were eliminated in the third round after a 5-0 aggregate defeat to South Africa.
Now after the defeat to Mali on Wednesday, their hopes of making it to the third round again hang in the balance. However, for interim coach Wilson Mutekede even an elimination after the reverse fixture in Mali on Monday will not be an ending.
Instead, it will be the beginning of a project.
Mutekede, the former ZIFA Technical Director, is looking beyond the scorelines and insists that ZIFA now have firm ground to build a competitive future Warriors side.
“Beyond the heartbreaking scoreline, I think we also had moments where potential was visible, meaning that if those elements can be kept together, we can build a strong future team,” he said post-match.
“We also created some chances at some point although we failed to convert, won ourselves some corner kicks and set-pieces so going forward, these are some positives that we can build on.”
That builds the tension for the return tie. Zimbabwe lost heavily, yet created enough to have changed the game. They fluffed more than three golden chances which could have reduced the margin or even levelled matters against Mali.
Now they face a bigger task of having to clear that three-goal deficit if they are to reach the next round of the 2027 Under-23 AFCON qualifiers.
Although Mutekede was disappointed that his side blew realistic chances to draw with or beat Mali, if kept together, he said they can be a very competitive team in a few years.
Mali did not come to Harare to learn. Yet inside that heartbreaking defeat, there were moments Mutekede will cling to.
“The boys created and pressed in patches, especially late on showing that there is something to work with as we move forward,” he said.
“The team is not just about this qualifier, but 2027, 2028, 2029 and beyond.
“It is about feeding the senior Warriors, ending the cycle where Zimbabwe starts over every two years with a brand-new team that has never played together.” Overturning a 0-3 deficit away from home is a daunting task.
The Young Warriors need to score three goals, concede none and then win on penalties. Alternatively, they should score four to win outright in Mali, against a side that already has one foot in the next round.
Mutekede understands that this is almost mission impossible and chooses to look beyond the Qualifiers, insisting there is need for continuity into the future.
Precisely when the national team coaches were unveiled earlier this year, ZIFA president Nqobile Magwizi said the association was moving away from short-term fixes.
“When we relied on just preparing to fulfil upcoming tournaments, we had no future plan and the result was always a senior team that kept having to start from scratch,” added Mutekede.
“We always had players who had never played together at junior level or experienced the pressure of a continental stage until they were already Warriors.”
“This Under-23 project is an attempt to fix that, which is why we even went for younger players of ages 21 down to 16 year olds.” The Young Warriors, even in defeat, are a step towards building a new system. “If this group stays together, get more camps and friendlies, enough competitive games, then in two or three years, this could be a perfectly ‘baked’ national team,” he said.
