adminEddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
WARRIORS midfielder Nqobizitha Masuku says the youthful group of home-based players is looking to scale the same heights as the team that reached the semi-finals at the last CHAN tournament.
Masuku said he was happy with the courage shown by coach Callisto Pasuwa to call the majority of the Under-23 team players to represent Zimbabwe in this tournament and hailed their generation as the future of Zimbabwe football.
Zimbabwe have qualified for every CHAN tournament since 2009 when the biennial competition, exclusively for players plying their trade in the domestic league, was launched.
The Warriors will begin their quest for another place at the finals tomorrow when they host Comoros in the first leg of the first round qualifiers at Rufaro.
The Highlanders midfielder said they were aiming for a healthy win at home to make their job easier when they travel to the Indian Ocean island nation for the return leg.
Masuku said although they have little knowledge about their opponents, who are ranked 190 in the world against Zimbabwe’s 119, they will not take their opponents lightly.
“Many people think that this will be an easy game just because Comoros are a team that is not in the football spotlight. But we are taking them seriously because we want to qualify for the CHAN finals again.
“The team that played in South Africa did perfectly well. So we want to repeat that kind of performance. So, we are taking it seriously as a team even though we had few days of preparations,” said Masuku.
The technical team has kept faith in the Under-23 side that recently beat Cameroon to qualify for the finals of the Africa Games.
But skipper Danny Phiri, Ronald Chitiyo and Justice Jangano have weighed in with the experience that the side may need to negotiate the difficult terrain.
The Warriors again had to start their preparations late due to disagreements between the coach and ZIFA.
“The advantage is we know each other as local players and, hopefully, the combinations will click,” said Masuku.
“The coaches are motivating us in the best way possible and we have to win on Sunday since we are playing at home. We are playing in front of our supporters and we have to make them happy.
“Ours is a young squad so we need the supporters to be behind us. I also feel it’s good for us because in the past the Under-23s sometimes were not recognised for senior national team selection.
“Now, we have our chance to showcase our talents at the higher level and, obviously, we would want to do very well.
“We are not under any pressure because some players have played before in the senior national team but with the current squad, it’s totally a younger and new group altogether. This is the future of the national team, mark my words,” said Masuku.
Youthful goalkeeper Tatenda Mukuruva, who made his senior national team debut in Malawi last week, said they were looking for a positive start.
The DeMbare ‘keeper said they will needed to remain focused.
“When we get into the field we have to put all our problems aside. It doesn’t matter we started preparations late, we have to play well and get a victory.
“We are playing at home so we need to win. It’s a big boost when we go to the Comoros,” said Mukuruva.
Midfielder Wisdom Mutasa said they should not get carried away with their recent success both at the Under-23 and senior team level.
“I don’t know much about Comoros but I believe they came here to compete. We don’t have to underrate them. So we are going to fight for a win,” said Mutasa.
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