THE Warriors received a major boost yesterday ahead of their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) campaign after Mamelodi Sundowns forward Khama Billiat and Nyasha Mushekwi (pictured) joined their teammates at training.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
The duo arrived in Harare on Wednesday and took part in yesterday’s morning and afternoon training sessions having missed the Wednesday training.
But Belgium based Knowledge Musona is expected to arrive tomorrow, having been involved in a league match for his club on Boxing Day.
Warriors team manager Sharif Mussa yesterday said Musona should be in the country today.
“Khama and Mushekwi have arrived, they took part in training this morning (yesterday). We are now just waiting for Musona. We are arranging his itinerary and we should expect him to be in by tomorrow (today),” said Mussa.
Billiat’s delay to join up with his Warriors’ teammates was due to his involvement at the Fifa Club World Cup in Japan a few weeks ago where he became the first Zimbabwean to play at that level.
However, his South African team Mamelodi Sundowns bowed out in the quarter-finals following a 2-0 defeat by home side Kashima Antlers.
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The former Caps United forward, who won the South African Player of the Year award and is also in the running for the Best Player based in Africa award at the Glo-Caf Awards on January 5 in Abuja, Nigeria, is expected to play a pivotal role in the Warriors’ campaign at the Afcon.
Mushekwi had not joined up with the other players as he was said to be attending to personal business in Europe.
Their arrival in camp would be a big boost to the Warriors technical team who, on Wednesday, were forced to train with only 14 players.
The group trained under assistant coach Saul Chaminuka, who was standing in for his boss Pasuwa, who was also expected home yesterday from Ivory Coast where he had gone with a team of home-based players for an international friendly against the hosts which ended in a goalless draw.
Pasuwa will have little time to come up with the final squad for submission to Caf before today’s midnight deadline.
Caf allows each competing nation to submit a total of 40 members that includes 23 players and 17 technical staff plus FA officials that will be under the confederation’s expense during the period of the tournament from January 14 to February 5, 2017.
Pasuwa had named an enlarged provisional squad of 31 which will be trimmed to 23, but with right-back Blessing Moyo having been ruled out because of injury, he will now have to come up with his final team from the remaining 30 players.
Moyo had been expected to fight for the right-back position with Hardlife Zvirekwi and Oscar Machapa.
The Warriors are looking to make a mark in their third appearance at the tournament. On the two occasions that they have participated at the African football showpiece in 2004 and 2006, they failed to go beyond the group stages.
Zimbabwe have been drawn in Group B alongside Algeria, Senegal and Tunisia at the 2017 Afcon.
The Warriors are scheduled to play a warm-up match against a club in Cameroon before they clash with the Indomitable Lions on January 10 in an international friendly.
Zimbabwe will kick off their Afcon campaign with a clash against Algeria before taking on Senegal and then wind up their group stage with a match against Tunisia.
