National women football team coach Rosemary Mugadza has expressed uneasiness over the group her team was placed in the draw for the 10th edition of All-Africa Games that was held in Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday.
The multi-sport games will run from September 3-18 in Maputo, Mozambique.
The Mighty Warriors, who are riding high after winning their first-ever Cosafa Women Championships last weekend, were drawn in arguably the toughest group of the two.
They will meet Africa’s second-ranked team Ghana, South Africa and Tanzania. Group A has hosts Mozambique, Cameroon, Guinea and Algeria.
Said Mugadza: “It’s a tough draw because we are going to face some really good teams. We are going to prepare well and I think with enough preparations we have proved that we can do exceptionally well. Playing in the Cosafa tournament was also good as it helped us to see our strengths and most importantly the areas where we need to improve.
“We beat South Africa and Tanzania in the Cosafa tournament, but the All-Africa Games will be a different tournament. These teams will be seeking revenge. They now know our strengths and our weaknesses so whoever prepares well is going to win.”
Mugadza’s team is set to leave for Germany on Thursday next week for a two-week training camp.
“The camp will be good for us as we are going to play their women national team which was playing in the World Cup. This will give us an opportunity to measure ourselves on where we need to improve. We are also going to play some teams from their league, they have a professional women league, which should give us some good insights on our team before the games in Maputo,” said Mugadza. Team captain Onai Chingawo said her team was handed a fair draw.
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“On the surface it’s a tough one (group), but I don’t think it will be as difficult as it looks. If we can prepare well and replicate the same performance we had throughout the Cosafa tournament then I’m sure we can reach the finals or even win it. I know we will surprise a lot of people there,” said the confident Chingawo.
