adminWomen’s Under-20 World Cup journey.
The team, playing in their first round, first leg match having received a bye in the preliminary round, will be seeking a positive start as they seek to secure a ticket to Russia in August if they make it through the three qualifying rounds. Coach Langton Giwa’s SADC Zone VI Youth champions will be fancying their chances of progressing to the second round where they would meet the winners between Nigeria and Sierra Leone in March.
The winner from the Zimbabwe/Mozambique and /Nigeria/ Sierra Leone will progress to the final round where they would meet the winner from the pool of Mali/Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon/Democratic of Congo in May. But the Young Mighty Warriors believe they have the pedigree to go all the way to the showpiece, as their journey begins on Sunday.
Yesterday, as they went through their paces at Rufaro, the junior players, most of whom will be taking in a tournament for the first time, they said they are ready for the clash.
Mufakose Queens defender Florence Maponga said they are geared for the task at hand.
“It is our first match as the Under-20 team so we would like to win and get support from fans and sponsors. The team is now fit and we can even win 5-0,” said Maponga.
Young Mighty Warriors midfielder Mavis Chirandu, who plays for Mashonaland Central province league club Auckland said she is excited to be in the national team and would do her best.
“I am happy to be representing Zimbabwe and we want to qualify for the World Cup. I am looking forward to a good game and won’t be intimidated by the support,” said Chirandu.
Goalkeeper Portia Mukucha, who was guarding the goalposts as Zimbabwe lost 0-4 at the hands of South Africa two weeks ago, said they are ready for the encounter which they have to win before they travel for the reverse fixture.
“We want to win at home. We have worked on our weaknesses after the friendly match in Johannesburg and we are now prepared. I believe we can qualify for the World Cup because we have good players just like other nations like Nigeria. There is team spirit among the players and everyone is excited to be playing in their first competitive match,” said Mukucha.
The team has been boosted by the inclusion of the Mighty Warriors strikers Rudo Neshamba, Rutendo Makore, Rufaro Machingura and defenders Eunice Chibanda and Danai Bhobho as well as defensive midfielder Emmaculate Msipa.
After watching his troops wrap up another training session yesterday, technical advisor Maxwell Takaendesa Jongwe said the team has improved since their first preparatory match against Baby Banyana a fortnight ago.
“There has been marked improvement after playing the warm up match. The fitness levels have improved although not to expected levels. The girls are adapting to training considering it is a development age group. I don’t expect the Mozambicans to be way ahead of us. We would want to win convincingly but there is also a lot of pressure as we are playing at home for the first time and the fans should just be patient with the girls,” said Jongwe.
The final 18 will be released today as the technical team was still making selections last night and were also waiting for the outcome of fitness tests before making a final decision.
Meanwhile, Mozambique, who came by road via Forbes Border Post arrived in the capital last night.
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