WARRIORS captain, Willard Katsande is targeting maximum points when Zimbabwe clash with Senegal in their second Group B football match at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Franceville tomorrow night.
BY KEVIN MAPASURE IN FRANCEVILLE, GABON
Having picked up a single point from the first match on Sunday, the Warriors will be looking for a win, which could take them through to the quarter-finals.
Katsande yesterday said for the team to qualify they will have to win at least one match and it is the game against Senegal they are targeting to book their place in the next stage.
“We need the points and for us to qualify we are going to have to win at least one match,” he said. “The Senegal match is the one we are targeting to get maximum points and set ourselves well to go through. We are ready to go out again and show Africa that we are Zimbabwe and we are good at the game.”
Katsande said that it was important for them to guard against complacency, having been showered with praises after their match against Algeria, where they went close to taking all three points.
“I think we need to work against complacency, everyone has been showering us with praise saying we are a quality team, but we need to forget about the last match and work even more against Senegal. We respect Senegal for all the quality they have, but on the pitch we will have no respect for names and profiles,” he said.
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Zimbabwe and Algeria played a 2-all draw in the first match on Sunday, while Senegal won 2-0 against Tunisia.
Katsande observed that Zimbabwe would need to guard against conceding from free kicks around the penalty box.
“We watched the first half of their match against Tunisia and that’s when they scored their goals. They are very good at set pieces so we need to avoid giving away set pieces. We also observed a few weaknesses, but we will not divulge those.”
The Algeria-Zimbabwe match has arguably been the most entertaining so far at the Afcon tournament and yesterday Katsande told NewsDaySport that the Warriors would play an entertaining game against Senegal.
“Our philosophy is based on a high energy, quick movement kind of game. We will stick to that, whoever we face it’s how we will try to play. People are watching Afcon because they want entertainment so we want to provide that.”
Zimbabwe were generally expected to lose the match against Algeria, but they matched the North Africans in all areas and could have won had it not been for two mistakes at both ends of the pitch.
Some would have expected the Warriors to play a defensive game, but they surprised the Algerians with an offensive strategy.
It is expected that the Warriors will try to peg back the star-studded Senegalese side by pushing numbers forward. The team was expected to have their training session at their base in Moanda last night.
Tomorrow’s Fixtures: Algeria v Tunisia (Stade de Franceville, 6pm), Senegal v Zimbabwe (Stade de Franceville, 9pm)
