Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
THE national Under-20 men’s football team arrived in South Africa yesterday ahead of their opening Cosafa Championship tie against the hosts at Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth tomorrow.
Zimbabwe are making a return to the competition after missing last year’s competition.
They have been drawn in a tough pool that also includes Mozambique and Lesotho.
Only the top team from each of the three pools and the best-placed runner-up advance to the semi-finals, while the two sides that will compete in the final will earn a place in the 2021 Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations in Mauritania.
With the disqualification of the Under-17 national team from the Cosafa Championships a fortnight ago still fresh, there is hope Zifa covered enough ground this time around to avoid the embarrassment that came with the banishment of the Under-17 side.
Botswana, Comoros Islands and Eswatini were also excluded from the competition after one or more of their players failed a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) eligibility assessment on their arrival in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Raphael Pitisi (TelOne), Mattriples Muleya (Bulawayo Chiefs)
Defenders: Malvern Hativagoni (Bulawayo Chiefs), Tinotenda Muringai (Dynamos), Munashe Garananga (Ubuntu, SA), Munashe Katondo (Ngezi Platinum Stars), Mannered Matsikidze (Highlands Park, SA), Kelvin Mangiza (FC Platinum)
Midfielders: Panashe Mutimbanyoka (FC Platinum), Lexington Mujokoro (FMSA Umguza), Dibbellar Mapuwa (Legends Academy), Tendayi Matindife (Ngezi Platinum Stars), Oscar Magejo (Academy 2063)
Brandon Nyagurungo (CAYA Foot, Senegal), Sebastian Summerfield (Gatshead FC, UK)
Strikers: Bill Antonio (Prince Edward Academy), Tapiwa Mandinyenya (Aces Youth Academy), Munashe Pini (Chicken Inn).
Head Coach: Tonderai Ndiraya
Assistant coaches: Mandla Mpofu, Nesbert Saruchera
Goalkeepers coach: Innocent Chogugudza
Medical Doctor: Mthokozisi Moyo
Physiotherapist: Sheldorn Patsika
Equipment manager: Shingirayi Binoni
Team manager: Patrick Mutesva
Head of delegation: Thomas Marambanyika. — @innocentskizoe.
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