Chronicle Editor
Tadious Manyepo in JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
THE passionate ululation and whistling that greet the Warriors each time their bus passes through the streets of inner Johannesburg has had a significant impact on the players.They are here for a critical assignment, a double-header 2026 World Cup qualifier against Lesotho and South Africa.
The home game against Lesotho, which will be staged at Orlando Stadium on Friday could have been played in Harare or Bulawayo, but there are no venues fit to play host to international games, as per CAF requirements.And there is always a price to pay for hosting home games away from home, including loneliness on the part of players.But whoever settled for the adoption of Orlando Stadium, in Soweto should be a genius.
The Warriors might be physically preparing for a home-away-from-home game against Lesotho, but there is always this feeling that they will be actually home, thanks to the support they are receiving from Zimbabweans in business and ordinary fans.
Defender, Munashe Garananga believes the huge Zimbabwean community in South Africa could be handy on Friday and South Africa next Tuesday at Free State Stadium, in Bloemfontein.”It is a good thing that we have a lot of Zimbabweans in South Africa,” Garananga said.
“We saw them at the airport (when they welcomed the team on Monday), in the streets and everywhere.”They are making us feel very much at home. Hopefully, they will be behind us in these two games coming up. We are in South Africa, but we kind of feel at home because of the large Zimbabwean community in South Africa.”
The Belgium-based defender, who could earn a starting berth in interim head coach Jairos Tapera’s line-up against Lesotho, said he was keen to play a key role in helping Zimbabwe win the upcoming two games.”I am not gonna say the expectations are high for me or anything. I am just excited to be here. It’s always something that I have been looking forward to since I moved to Belgium,” he said.
“Just coming and representing the country in this crucial stage of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers is something I don’t take for granted.
“I want to play a huge role, if picked, in helping my country win the matches.
“I am very excited to be here. Zimbabwe has a lot of quality players if you ask me. So, being chosen to be part of the team really means a lot for me. I am keen to play my part and possibly write a good historical piece for my country.
“We are here to defend our flag and nothing else. That’s what we are all hoping for.”He said the operating environment was very conducive and there was nothing to stop Zimbabwe from getting the points against both Lesotho and South Africa.”So far so good in camp. Everything is going on well and everyone is motivated to give their all.
“We are gelling well as a team. Everyone is just keen to go and we are happy with the high spirit in camp. We are all united and it will be easy for us to stop our opponents.”
Zimbabwe have two points in as many matches, but with Rwanda, who are leading Group C, only on four points after playing the same number of games, Tapera and the boys know well what getting maximum points against Lesotho and South Africa will do for their qualification bid.
Nigeria and Benin are the other teams in the same pool from which only winners will progress to the 2026 World Cup to be jointly staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States of America.
Online Reporter