Zim football: Future looks bright

Ricky Zililo Sports Reporter
ON Tuesday, Zimbabwe beat South Africa 2-1 in a highly charged international friendly match at Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg, and that victory left me thinking, who will be there when the 2018 Fifa World Cup campaign starts?Knowledge Musona put Zimbabwe ahead with a blistering volley before Mamelodi Sundowns’ Cuthbert Malajila sealed victory for the Warriors in injury time. South Africa’s consolation goal came from the boot of Kaizer Chiefs’ marksman Bernard Parker.

The victory was good for Zimbabwe who had a disappointing 2014 Fifa World Cup campaign. The win against South Africa also gave the new national team coach Ian Gorowa who is getting victories on the road but finding it tough at home an opportunity to fuse his foreign-based legion with local players.

The game against Bafana Bafana was viewed by many as an encounter that will mark the start of building a new team for future campaigns.
In January, Zimbabwe will compete at the African Nations Championships (Chan) which are set for South Africa.

The Chan tournament is a competition meant to give locally based players a chance to shine but as a nation can we have faith in the bulk of the ageing players that are in the national team?

Looking at the side that played against South Africa, there seems to be a glimmer of hope for the Warriors for their future campaigns.
For starters, some of the players that were outstanding for Zimbabwe still have age on their side and expectations are high that they will not be left out of upcoming assignments.

Some of the players who carry Zimbabwe’s hopes include Mamelodi Sundowns’ Khama Billiat who at 23 years of age, is a marvel and is setting South Africa’s elite league alight with his fancy footwork as well as goals.

Khama is one of Warriors’ prospects and I believe the pint-sized midfielder will be key for Zimbabwe’s 2015 and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) campaigns as well as the 2018 World Cup.

Chicken Inn’s defensive midfielder Danny Phiri, 22, also had a game of his life, complementing Willard Katsande and making sure that they thwart most of the opposition’s raids. Phiri is a former national Under-20 member.

It was also refreshing to see Gorowa throwing into the fray 20-year-old Kudakwashe Mahachi when Zimbabwe played to a one-all draw with Mozambique in the dead rubber World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

Mahachi has been one of the most promising players of his generation, being voted as the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League Rookie of the Year in 2012. He was also part of the 11 Soccer Star of the Year finalists.

Some of Mahachi’s peers that are knocking the doors of the senior national team whom he played with in the national Under-20 include FC Platinum duo of the Moyo twins Elvis and Kevin, France-based Marvellous Nakamba, Dynamos’ goalkeeper George Chigova and Bantu Rovers’ captain Nqobizitha Masuku.

Chances are high that all of these players save for Nakamba will be at the Chan tournament in January. The likes of Katsande (27), Bhasera (27) Belgium-based Vusa Nyoni (28), goalkeeper Washington Arubi (28) and Cuthbert Malajila (28) can lead the transition that will see a number of younger players coming into the fray.

There are also players likes Charles Sibanda (27), How Mine striker Simba Sithole (24), Eric Chipeta and Hardlife Zvirekwi who are going to be part of Zimbabwe’s Chan squad next year.

Looking at some of the youngsters like Mahachi, Chigova, Masuku, Denver Mukamba, Billiat and Musona that have been used by Gorowa, the future looks bright.

What has been clear is that as much as Gorowa wants results, he is also thinking about the future and what is left is for Zifa to complement his efforts in making sure that we do not lose any of the younger players that are identified by the national team coaches.

It will also be good for the national team coaches, through Zifa, to organise off-season training camps so that some of the players that will have been overlooked are given a chance to showcase their talents to the coaches.

Zifa will have to engage the corporate world so that they have a buy-in in the long term strategies that the national association has and in the process turn dreams into reality as Zimbabwe seeks to make its maiden appearance at the prestigious World Cup.