admin
Tadious Manyepo in JOHANNESBURG
WARRIORS captain, Marshall Munetsi, says all their remaining 2026 World Cup qualifiers, including the one against Lesotho at Orlando Stadium today, will be treated as a CUP FINAL.
Today’s game gets underway at 3pm.
“Morale is very good because everyone is focused on doing something that Zimbabwe has never done, so if we want to achieve something of this magnitude, we have to work as a team,” said Munetsi.
“So, we are just focused.
“I think the word captain is just a word that goes on to mention other leaders, who include other players, the coaches and staff who work behind the scenes.
“Everyone believes that we can make it so we have to also make sure that the people at home, and the people that are going to come and support us, have that belief also.
“For us, each game is a final, because if you don’t win one game you may fail to make it through.
“We are very fortunate enough because we drew the first two games away from home and now we play here in South Africa, which gives us a huge advantage.”
He said it has been very easy for him to bring the players together.
“We have to integrate as different people, from different cultures and tribes. So it’s not a difficult thing, you try to to respect everyone and find common ground because we are playing for the Zimbabwe national team.
“For me, it’s just been an easy job because most of the guys that are there have been there for a long time and we are good friends even outside football, so it makes the job that much easier.
“Now the squad composition has changed because of the net that we are casting very wide.
“We used to have a lot of good South African-based players but now we have a lot of Europe-based players.
“It gives us an added advantage because we have a lot of international players playing at the highest level.
“Most of them are still young, so the future is bright, we have to just be able to manage them and have that continuity.”
Coach Jairos Tapera said there won’t any excuses.
“We are very hopeful that we can push through and get the result that we want. It’s a very big game for us, away from home, yes, but we will not take that as an excuse.
“We just have to organise ourselves and ensure that the players are ready for the challenge.
“I want to promise everyone who is supporting us, and who will come to watch us, that we are going to put everything into it tomorrow (today) and we promise that we are going to get a positive result.”
Warriors probable line-up:
Donovan Benard, Andrew Mbeba, Devine Lunga, Gerald Takwara, Teenage Hadebe, Marshal Munetsi, Jordan Zemura, Andy Rinomhota, Tawanda Maswanhise, Tawanda Chirewa, Tymon Machope
Online Reporter