Tough task ahead at Afcon

Lovemore Dube, [email protected]

RECORDS are there to be broken.

This should be the Warriors’ motivation come the end of the year when they participate in the Africa Cup of Nations finals to be hosted by Morocco.

Zimbabwe has been drawn to face Angola, Egypt, and South Africa.

A statistical look does not give the Warriors much of a chance to excel, and that could possibly turn out to be the motivation for the team to create their own piece of history in a tournament where they have yet to progress beyond the first round.

Since 1980, when the country was re-admitted to the Fifa Family, the Warriors have faced Egypt 13 times, with the Pharaohs holding the upper hand in these encounters.

Egypt has beaten Zimbabwe eight times, drawn four, and lost once. If history is anything to go by, the first match of this year’s campaign is likely to be a foregone conclusion, but each match has its own dynamics, and Zimbabwe is fielding a talented squad, with some players having gone through European academy training, making them adept in technique and tactics.

Zimbabwe’s first clash with Egypt was on 28 August 1984 when, under Wieslaw Grawboski and Paul Moyo as manager, they were beaten 1-0 and drew 1-1 at Rufaro after Mohammed El Khatib scored for the visitors and Stanley Ndunduma for the home team.

Many believed that had substitute Madinda Ndlovu’s thunderous shot not crashed against the crossbar, the result of the 1986 World Cup qualifier would have been different.

On 20 December 1992, the Warriors beat Egypt 2-1 in a 1994 World Cup qualifier, and since then, it has been a series of draws and losses, with the North Africans maintaining their position among Africa’s football powerhouses.

How the team fares against Egypt could be crucial in determining the two slots available for progression to the next stage of the competition.

Former Zimbabwe international Benjani Mwaruwari has said that beating Egypt could be just what the doctor ordered for Zimbabwe to make history.

“If we are to be counted among the best in Africa, we must fight to reach the later stages of such competitions. I challenge the boys to beat Egypt,” said Mwaruwari on Monday evening.

But against Angola and South Africa, there is a strong possibility of positive results.

The Warriors have beaten Angola eight times, lost seven, and drawn four, with one of the draws decided by penalties. Zimbabwe won the first-ever match between the two countries on 10 November 1985, 3-2, in an international friendly in Luanda, and followed up with another victory in Zimbabwe on 8 March 1990, a sweet 2-0 win.

Zimbabweans will remember the threat posed by Fabrice Akwa in the 1990s and Flavio in the new millennium.

The pendulum can swing either way, and the initiative to progress to the next round of the Afcon finals in Morocco could be in the balance.

Versus South Africa
Being drawn against South Africa in the tournament brings the Limpopo Derby to North Africa. In terms of matches played between the two, several stand out.

The famous 7-0 thrashing of then Rhodesia in 1977 and South Africa’s first Africa Cup of Nations appearance, in which the Warriors gave Bafana Bafana a football lesson to remember.

Inspired by the mercurial Peter Ndlovu, Zimbabwe fired four goals past Mark Anderson for South Africa, conceding just one. However, they faltered later, drawing 1-1 against Zambia and failing to qualify for the 1994 finals.

South Africa are past winners and runners-up and will draw motivation from their previous successes.

They also enjoy significant financial support.

The Zimbabwe Government last year pledged US$1 million towards the team at the tournament.
Zifa has a starting point in terms of resource mobilisation, and with a board strong on corporate figures, Nqobile Magwizi and the executive will be expected to arrange a hassle-free tournament.

This could just be Zimbabwe’s turnaround year and tournament, under a new Zifa president, Magwizi, and new national team coach, Michael Nees.

In previous tournaments, players have haggled with management well into the early hours.