Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda, recently in DURBAN, South Africa
TAWANDA CHIREWA says he feels something exceptional each time he puts on the Warriors jersey.
It is a special kind of connection with his motherland.
The 21-year-old midfielder was born in Chelmsford, United Kingdom, to Zimbabwean parents, but there is something intrinsic that drives him forward whenever he wears the golden yellow strip.
Chirewa returned to the Warriors setup on Thursday last week after an injury-induced layoff, and put on a second-half masterclass as Zimbabwe battled from 2-0 down to snatch a 2-2 draw against Benin in a Group C World Cup qualifier at Moses Mabidha Stadium in Durban.
Prior to that game, Chirewa had missed Zimbabwe’s last four Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, as he was nursing the injury.
He was also reported to have had an altercation with Warriors coach Michael Nees during the initial stages of the AFCON qualifiers. Chirewa was said to have not taken lightly Nees’ decision to haul him off during the opening AFCON qualifier against Kenya in Kampala in September last year.
When Zimbabwe played Cameroon a few days later, Chirewa started on the bench and was reluctant to come on when Nees wanted his services late in the game.
Nees has already cleared the air about that episode and Chirewa is back in the Warriors fold, determined to play for his country.
Against Benin, Chirewa came on at the restart for Prince Dube, who looked out of sorts upfront.
Immediately, Chirewa changed the complexion of the game with his neat touches and precise passes, putting Benin on the back foot. When he came on, Zimbabwe were trailing 2-1, but the match ended 2-2, after the returning Knowledge Musona found the equaliser in the 59th minute.
The draw left Zimbabwe rooted at the bottom of Group C with three points from five games.
South Africa now top the group with 10 points after dispatching Lesotho on Friday, while Nigeria accounted for Rwanda on the same day, to move to six points.
“I feel proud whenever I put on the Warriors jersey,” Chirewa said, soon after the match against Benin.
He has now fully recovered from the nagging injury that kept him out of action between September and October last year.
Chirewa has also been doing well at League One side Huddersfield Town, where he is on loan from Premier League side Wolves. He has played 486 minutes since February and in Durban last week, Chirewa proved why he is mentioned as one of the future stars for the national team.
“It was a good game; we started slowly and it cost us a little, but we recovered very well. I would say it was another good performance,” he said.
He was fired up during the warm-up session and raved the crowd up as the players walked out of the tunnel before kickoff.
“I like it when I am back on the pitch for my country; it’s good to be back,” he said. “It is what I love to do, and doing it for my country makes me proud, it makes my family proud.
“I want to make everyone proud by producing the goods for my country.”
Next up for Zimbabwe is the Super Eagles of Nigeria in Uyo on Tuesday and Chirewa is highly motivated.
“I have to go there and show them what I can do,” he said. “Nigeria have players who play in Europe, very good players, but we just have to try our best.”
Nigeria have in their cast an array of gifted players, including 2024 CAF African Footballer of the Year Ademola Lookman, who is best remembered for scoring a historic hat trick for Atalanta in last season’s Europa final.
Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen and Alex Iwobi (Fulham) are some of the big names in the Nigerian squad.
But Chirewa thinks Zimbabwe have to play against the best to prove their worth.
Chirewa was on loan at Championship side Derby until January, when he switched base to Huddersfield.
“I am getting so much love at Huddersfield. I have also been getting some crucial minutes there. The more I play the more I improve,” he said.
Bongani Ndlovu