Warriors in first Black Stars World Cup date

Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor

FINALLY, after 41 years and scores of matches, including one which ended under a cloud of tragedy, the Warriors will this evening horns with the Black Stars, in a World Cup qualifier, for the very first time.

Zimbabwe versus Ghana — it’s one of the World Cup’s rare fixtures!

One which has never been played before, despite the two countries regularly meeting, in the trenches of the AFCON qualifiers, over the years.

It has taken the Warriors more than four decades of hunting, in the jungles of African football, for them to finally get a crack at a World Cup qualifying showdown, against the Black Stars.

If one includes the 1970 World Cup qualifier, which this country played, under a different name, against Australia in 1969, then that’s more than half a century’s wait, for a battle against Ghana.

Along the way, the Warriors have played some of the heavyweights of the game, on the continent, in this ultimate quest for the Holy Grail.

Those powerhouse nations include the Pharaohs of Egypt, whom the Dream Team famously battled, in a riveting group showdown for glory, during the qualifiers, for the ’94 World Cup finals.

Such was the tense showdown, between the two teams, their battle in Cairo had to be nullified by FIFA, after a number of members of the visiting party, including coach Reinhard Fabisch, were injured by flying missiles.

The Egyptians had won that ill-tempered content 2-1, with Agent Sawu on target for the Dream Team, but the result was nullified because the hostile conditions, inside the Cairo International Stadium, were deemed unfair for the Warriors.

A neutral venue was found, in the French city of Lyon, which is now the home of Warriors striker Tino Kadewere, for the two countries to battle it out, in a replay.

In probably, the greatest defensive performance by the Warriors, in their history, the Dream Team found a way to combat a strikeforce, led by the great Hossam Hassan, to force a heroic goalless draw.

The point helped them win their group and, a place among the last nine standing African nations, who were still vying for a place, at the World Cup finals.

It remains the high point of the Warriors’ World Cup adventure and, since then, they have never touched those heights again.

In the new millennium, the World Cup has been hostile, in a way, to the Warriors.

Tragedy struck, in their home qualifier against South Africa in 2010, leaving 13 fans dead, at the National Sports Stadium.

There have also been some heavy home defeats, including when Jay Jay Okocha and his Nigerian magicians came to town, in 2004.

They even found a way to seduce legendary commentator Charles Mabika, with their Play Station-like super show, with devasating consequences, for the voice of Zimbabwe football.

In the reverse fixture, in Nigeria, the Warriors leaked in five goals.

Then, during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Mohamed Salah also came to town and, after running rings around the Warriors defence, scored  hat-trick, in the Pharaohs’ four-goal romp.

Before the tears, from that hammering had dried down, came an even bigger blow, when the Warriors were thrown out of the 2018 World cup qualifiers, after ZIFA failed to settle a debt owed to former coach, Valinhos.

Yesterday, the Warriors were reminded that their 0-1 loss to Somalia, in a preliminary round qualifier, remains the biggest shock of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

GracenoteLive, an authoritative website which analyses world football, said Nigeria’s 0-1 defeat by Central African Republic on Thursday, was even a lesser shock, than Somalia’s sensational victory.

“Biggest shocks — 5.7% chance (Kyrgyz Republic 0, Mongolia 1); 7.1% chance (Germany 1, North Macedonia 2); 7.4% (Nigeria 0, Central African Republic 1); 9.5% (Somalia 1, Zimbabwe 0).

Throughout all this drama, the Warriors have never met the Black Stars, in a World Cup qualifier.

They are now set to do that this evening, at the Cape Coast Stadium, in a game which gets underway at 6pm.

And, the Ghanaians believe today’s match will not result in another David Goliath affair.

“We are very positive with what we have seen and for me, based on what I have witnessed in training from Tuesday, I’m sure that we are on course,’’ Ghana Football Association spokesperson, Henry Asante Twum, told Asempa FM.

“At the end of the day, it is the results that we are looking for.

“Anytime the coach (Milovan Rajevac) engages the players, he makes them aware that they’re representing one of the biggest football nations in the world.

“There are shocks in football like what happened to Nigeria.

“But, those shocks, they come once in a while.

“On the pitch, and off the pitch, what I have picked up, and what I have seen, gives me the encouragement and hope that we will translate that into performance on the field and get the result tomorrow (today).”