THE ticket to the Fifa 2014 Brazil World Cup football finalsmight be out of reach for both Zimbabwe and Mozambique, but Warriors assistant coach Kalisto Pasuwa feels there is still plenty to play for when the two teams meet in a dead-rubber match at Rufaro Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
REPORT BY HENRY MHARA
Zimbabwe are bottom of Group G with one point while their rivals tomorrow are a point better going into the last round of the qualifiers.
The other group members Egypt and Guinea meet in what should also be considered a dead-rubber considering that the Pharaohs, with 12 points, have already booked their place in the next and final stage of the qualifiers.
But, Pasuwa feels that there is a lot to gain from their match against the Mambas.
“There is still a lot to play for in this match. Matches involving Southern African teams are like derbies and there is bragging rights and pride to play for. We also need to win this match to improve on our Fifa rankings so it’s all to play for,” said Pasuwa.
The Warriors are currently ranked 116 in the world and 32 in Africa on the Fifa/Coca-Cola world rankings.
“This match is part of our preparations for the Chan finals so there is no way we are taking it lightly,” he added.
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Coach Ian Gorowa has in camp a squad dominated by local players with Kaizer Chiefs hardman Willard Katsande the only foreign-based player.
“Willard is one of the senior players and we have brought him in so that he shows the upcoming players like Danny Phiri, who plays in his position, how things are done. It’s unfortunate that Devon Chafa, who is also an understudy, is suspended, it could have been a good learning process for him,” said Pasuwa.
Since the appointment of Gorowa as Warriors coach two months ago, the team has failed to hit top gear when playing at home, only managing goalless draw against Zambia and 1-1 with Mauritius.
They have, however, beaten Mauritius 3-0 and Zambia 1-0 away.
Pasuwa explained: “There is so much pressure from the home supporters when playing at home and some of our players who play for small teams like Triangle are not used to it so they tend to panic when playing in front of a huge crowd.
“They are getting used to it though and we have also been doing our part as the technical team to psyche them up for such situations.”
The team had their morning training session at Gwanzura Stadium yesterday with three players — Hardlife Zvirekwi, Charles Sibanda and Ali Sadiki — running with huge limps.
Zvirekwi, scorer of a double for his club Caps United in a league match against Tripple B on Thursday, was struggling with a knee injury he picked in that match and Sibanda has a hamstring problem while Sadiki has not fully recovered from the ankle injury he picked while playing against Zambia last month.
Mozambique, who arrived in the country on Thursday, will train at the match venue today.
