Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo-Zimpapers Sports Hub
LEGENDARY former Warriors coach Sunday “Mhofu” Chidzambwa still recalls the breath-holding 24-hour wait that seemed to be eternity when Zimbabwe waited for their Africa Cup of Nations qualification fate in July 2003.
That the Warriors had never made it to the AFCON finals added to all the anxiety.
Zimbabwe had punched their weight in search of that ticket to the 2004 AFCON held in Tunisia when finishing neck to neck in Group F with Mali on 13 points but just short on goal difference.
Their hopes of making it to North Africa were never completely dashed, with one best runners-up across the qualification groups also qualifying.
They had failed themselves in a way after failing to harvest goals against Eritrea in their final group game at the National Sports Stadium.
But they did win that tie 2-0 on July 5, 2003, with captain Peter Ndlovu grabbing both goals early in the first half to ignite optimism that the Warriors would actually get an avalanche of at least five goals that would have helped them finish above Mali.
But after the Eritreans closed shop, Zimbabwe had to wait for their other encounter featuring Gabon and Sierra Leone in Libreville that was to be played the day after, on July 6.
Sierra Leone were second in their group to already-qualified Morocco, who were on 16 points.
The Leone Stars, on 10 points and plus five goal difference, needed to just beat Gabon and edge Zimbabwe on GD to secure their place in Tunisia.
Gabon, on three points, had nothing but pride to play for before their fans at the Stade Omar Bongo.
Back in Harare, just like it was in Freetown, that game was of ultimate interest.
Sierra Leone threw everything in their ultra-attacking style just to get the points going but Gabon, not once but twice caught them on the counter.
Gabon were 2-0 to the good.
That victory was celebrated more in Harare than in Libreville, and just like that Zimbabwe were on their way to their first-ever AFCON finals.
Exactly 23 years later, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe will be competing for a place at the AFCON finals directly this time around, unlike the case in 2003.
The two teams meet in Casablanca, Morocco this evening as they begin their quest to be part of the cast at next year’s edition, which will be co-hosted by Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.
“Well, I remember the scenario like it happened yesterday,” Chidzambwa retorted.
“Sierra Leone still have that in mind?
“I don’t know, but I don’t think so. You know football is all about who prepares better and who shows the positive attitude during play.
“Football is about who seizes the moments, the key moments in the game, the key phases in the game. That’s what it’s about.
“Obviously Sierra Leone is not a small fish when it comes to African football, given that they started playing the game well before us.
“They need to be treated with respect, and obviously that 2003 scenario can always give the match the extra subplot to burst up.”
Chidzambwa, who also led the Warriors to the 2019 AFCON finals in Egypt, backed the new coach Ramon Catala, who will be making his bow with Zimbabwe against Sierra Leone today.
“I think the new coach knows his game. He has picked the best players we have in Zimbabwe,” added Chidzambwa.
“These are the players that we have at the moment. These are the best players, I think, and we should give it to him; he picked the best that we have.
“We can only wish him well, and it all depends on the philosophy of his game, how he wants the players to play.
“But I am very confident that we can produce a good result against Sierra Leone.
“It is good that the match is being played in Morocco, not in Sierra Leone, due to CAF-stadium requirements, and it is certainly a plus for us because that is a neutral venue.
“The stadiums in Morocco are also very nice, and that should be good for the new coach with the type of players he has at his disposal. They play good football, and that should be good for them playing on those nice pitches.”
The other two teams in Group E, DRC and Equatorial Guinea, will face off in the opening pool match two hours before the Warriors game.
Zimbabwe will face DRC at the National Sports Stadium on Monday while Sierra Leone travel to Equatorial Guinea on the same day.
The top two teams from the group will punch their tickets to the 2027 AFCON tournament.
