Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo in LUSAKA, Zambia
MIGHTY Warriors coach Sithethelelwe “Kwinji 15” Sibanda has acknowledged that she has a lot of soul-searching to do but believes she has a foundation to build on for the senior national women’s football team.
This is despite the fact that Zimbabwe suffered yet another comprehensive defeat at the hands of Zambia on Tuesday night.
Zimbabwe have of late been finding it hard to match the Copper Queens, and the latest defeat, a 3-0 loss, in the final of the 4Nations tournament at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola has left her with hard questions to answer.
That the tournament was staged during the FIFA window also meant there were some global ranking points to be gained.
The Mighty Warriors, Zambia, Kenya and Lesotho took part in this tournament, which was put together to help gauge each other’s strength ahead of big competitions coming up.
Zambia and Kenya were using the contest to fine-tune for their immediate assignment — the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals which they are part of in Morocco next month.
Zimbabwe and Lesotho were using the tourney in Ndola to upscale preparations for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games qualification phase, which begins in September.
While Zimbabwe didn’t have to really break a sweat in their 3-1 victory over Lesotho in the semi-finals, they came a cropper against the Zambians and hardly matched the Copper Queens.
The hosts, who got their goals from star player Rachael Kundananji and double scorer Prisca Chilufya were full value for their win.
It has been a frustrating seven years for the Mighty Warriors, who last beat Zambia in 2019.
And until Tuesday night, Zimbabwe, banking on past glory, still had a better head-to-head record over their cross-Zambezi rivals.
After the defeat in Ndola, the two neighbours are now on 6-6.
Despite the Zambians being clearly the dominant side, Sibanda felt her charges had not been outplayed.
“It was a tough game against Zambia,” Sibanda said.
“Yeah, a very difficult match indeed, but we weren’t exactly outplayed.
“We have a lot to do in terms of our homework, looking at the gaps that we picked from this encounter.
“There is some work to do on our part. We really need to awaken and see where we are getting it wrong.
“Overall, the tournament was good and eye-opening.”
Sibanda was particularly impressed with the younger players who she believes can make a formidable team with more games on them.
She opted to throw the young blood into the fray against Lesotho, with the players dominating their opponents in every other aspect of the game, but they lacked the cutting edge in front of goal.
But the determination and the energy were just at another level.
“Those are the positives which we picked from the tournament,” said Sibanda.
“We are slowly transitioning into having a team of these young players with the guidance and leadership of the experienced players.
“I am happy with the way the young players asserted themselves and carried themselves in this tournament.
“We can only hope that the youngsters remain grounded, and that way, we will be able to get something very big from them.”
Meanwhile, the Mighty Warriors were expected back home late yesterday after travelling from Ndola in the morning, but had a lengthy layover in Lusaka before connecting to Harare. Forward Ethel Chinyerere, who is now playing for Green Buffaloes in Zambia, detached from the team in Lusaka and headed to her club base.
The locally-based players, who form more than 90 percent of the squad, will head straight to their teams ahead of the resumption of the Zimbabwe Women’s Premier Soccer League, which had been on a break due to the 4Nations tournament.
