The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Reporter
WARRIORS are in the 2020 African Nations Championship last qualifying round up against Lesotho and Manica Diamonds’ defender Partson Jaure, who is part of the squad, believes the tournament presents the team with a chance to redeem lost pride.
Home-based players travel to Maseru, Lesotho for the reverse tie in the last qualifying round, second leg this Sunday.
The 2020 African Nations Championship finals are set for Cameroon in January.
THE Warriors struggled to play fluently at home last month but they still managed to get the job done when they beat Lesotho in the first leg of the Chan final qualifier first leg.
“Our game against Lesotho is going to be a tough match because they have been together for long and they play in their local clubs. If there is any tournament they use the same players.
“And for us, we must go all the way and we must score and defend to make our job easy. I also hope this is a chance to redeem our lost pride not only by qualifying but making our impact felt at the finals in Cameroon,” he said.
The Warriors began their journey in the second round where they made light weight of Indian Ocean islanders Mauritius by winning 7-1 on aggregate.
National team caretaker coach Joey Antipas has already noted that they are not leaving anything to chance in their quest to book a place at 2020 African Nations Championship finals.
Antipas said the team will get down to serious business after he announced a 26-member provisional squad last Friday.
“It is a very competitive tournament to play in and it will be good for the local Warriors to make the final. As you know, given the exposure involved, it’s a big stage for our players to participate in and market themselves.
“We will train this week and come up with a team to face Lesotho. I believe the players that we picked are competitive enough and we just have to get the right mix at training. I hope we will come up with a good team. We have to be on top of this game and get to the CHAN finals,’’ he said.
The tournament has become a good marketing platform for local players.
Jaure, George Chigova and Milton Ncube secured contracts in the South African Premiership after the 2014 edition in South Africa.
Zimbabwe reached the semi-finals of that tourney, which remains their best performance in the tournament, to date.
