Warriors fullback Ocean Mushure is confident Zimbabwe will pick up the much-needed three points when they face-off against Mali in their Group D match of the African Nations Championships (Chan) at Umganda Stadium tomorrow.
BY Kevin Mapasure in Rubavu, Rwanda
The Dynamos defender concedes that the Mali match will be a tough one.
After losing their opening match to Zambia on Tuesday, the Warriors’ progression in this football tournament was left hanging precariously.
But the Warriors defender is confident that if they can make maximum use of their chances, they can win their remaining group matches against Mali and Uganda to progress to the quarter-finals.
“We are still confident that we can qualify from our group,” Mushure said. “The defeat to Zambia probably made it a little bit tougher, but we know what we have to do. We have to win our remaining matches, but we are focused firmly on Mali at the moment. A win against Mali would change everything.”
He said that the team needed to make good use of its chances.
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“In the last game we created chances, we need to continue doing that, but this time around we need to convert them into goals. Even though Mali also need the points, we are confident of our abilities and we can beat them. We can’t wait for the next match, we just want to go out there and fight. Our targets have not changed and we are still thinking about going further.”
Mali drew with Uganda in their first match and they will be out to register a win to enhance their own chances.
Zimbabwe wasted a number of good opportunities in their match against Zambia and the technical team, led by Kalisto Pasuwa, will be out to sharpen the strike force.
Warriors striker Knox Mutizwa is equally confident that the team will win against Mali.
“We have to show character and rise again and I believe in this team. I am positive we will win against Mali,” the 23-year-old said.
“We are faster than the Malians and we can pass the ball better. What is important is how we carry ourselves in the next game. We have to show that we can handle the situation we are in and we have been encouraging ourselves that we are not yet out.”
It was Edmore Chirambadare who benefited with the best opportunities, but he failed to make use of the chances, only for Zambia to score with probably their only clear-cut chance.
The Warriors are out to appease their demanding fans. The players here feel they owe their fans and they will be out to shed sweat and blood.
