The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Reporter
LEGENDARY former Warriors midfield magician Moses ‘Bambo’ Chunga thinks the senior men’s national team needs to wrap up their campaign by securing at least a draw in Monrovia, Liberia on Sunday to avoid disappointment on the last day of the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
DSTV will broadcast the Warriors match against Liberia on SuperSport 9A and coverage will start at 17:45pm.
The match kicks off at 6pm Zimbabwean time at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Monrovia.
“I think it is better if the Warriors go all out for a win in Liberia. Yes it will not be easy given that they (Liberia) will be playing away from home and they are no easy opponents especially when playing in their own backyard but that does not mean a win cannot be achieved. After all, we have managed to get results there before.
“Therefore, the Warriors need at least a draw so that they secure a ticket to the Cameroon finals. It is to our advantage if we manage to do so. We would not want to put ourselves under pressure on the last day of the campaign. You never know we might find ourselves losing at home on the last day of the qualifiers and that would be a catastrophe. We just need to wrap up our qualifying campaign in Monrovia with a game to spare,” said the former Buffaloes coach.
Zimbabwe has punched above their weight in this reverting 2019 Total Afcon qualifying campaign even though they settled for a one all stalemate at home against the Democratic Republic of Congo in their last encounter.
A win would have seen Zimbabwe through to the finals because Congo-Brazzaville lost 2-1 in Liberia in the other Group G match.
If Zimbabwe can get a draw in that match, they would qualify and at the same time eliminate Liberia from the race.
That would leave DRC and Congo-Brazzaville to fight for the remaining ticket of the group.
If Zimbabwe lose the match, they will need at least a point at home against Congo-Brazzaville in their last match of the campaign in March next year.
But getting a point in Liberia is not a given and Chidzambwa and his men will be aware of this.
Liberia might be donating points away from home, as they lost all two away matches in this campaign, against Zimbabwe (3-0) and Congo-Brazzaville (3-1), but they are a different beast altogether on their backyard.
DRC needed a late equaliser to get a point there, while Congo-Brazzaville did not know what hit them, falling 2-0 behind in the opening 15 minutes, before scoring a consolation.
The return of skipper Knowledge Musona, who missed the previous match due to suspension, should give the Warriors enough fire-power to win in Liberia and qualify with a match to spare.
Musona, whose first international goal came in Monrovia almost a decade ago when the Warriors played out to a 1-1 draw, has been enjoying a rich vein of form at national team level.
Defender Alec Mudimu, who was also suspended for the last match, would be back.
Chidzambwa is also hoping that some of his stars, who missed the back-to-back clashes with DRC due to injuries, in particular defender Costa Nhamoinesu and striker Tino Kadewere, have fully recovered.
Chidzambwa and his technical crew, which includes his assistants Lloyd Mutasa, Rahman Gumbo and goalkeepers’ trainer Brenna Msiska were joined by players Rodwell Chinyengetere, Kevin Moyo and Tinotenda Kadewere on Wednesday night on the first leg of the trip via Johannesburg where they teamed up with the South Africa-based contingent for the early morning flight.
Musona and the rest of the Europe-based players, who include Marvelous Nakamba and Alec Mudimu were expected to fly directly to Monrovia.
