×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Attack, attack, attack…Warriors look to blow Flames away

Sport
The Warriors are hoping to relentlessly bombard the Malawi goal area until the final whistle in their must-win Africa Cup of Nations Group B encounter here this evening.

BY KEVIN MAPASURE IN BAFASSOUM, CAMEROON The Warriors are hoping to relentlessly bombard the Malawi goal area until the final whistle in their must-win Africa Cup of Nations Group B encounter here this evening.

Having employed a more conservative approach to their opening match against Senegal as they sought to secure at least a point, but eventually lost the game in added time, coach Norman Mapeza says they will change the approach for the Malawi game, where nothing short of a victory would enhance their chances to move to the knockout stage.

Mapeza yesterday said they had targeted maximum points against Malawi and would be happy with at least a draw against Guinea as they set four points as their minimum threshold in their bid to go through to the last 16 at this tournament.

The top two teams from the six groups qualify to the knockouts, while four of the third-place finishers will tag along.

“Against Senegal, we were a bit cautious, we denied them space, but against Malawi, we will have a different approach. We have done our homework and we know exactly what we want to do,” Mapeza told the media yesterday.

“Chances of going to the next round are very high, we still have two games. We just have to go there with a positive mind and believe. We have hope and with the quality of players we have, we have a good chance of going to the next round.

“The Malawi game is a must-win game and if we can get that and maybe get at least a point against Guinea, we will go through. We have been working very hard and we have done video analyses. We are ready.”

Malawi lost their opening match 1-0 to Guinea and they too will be placing hopes on a win against Zimbabwe ahead of their final group game against Senegal.

The Warriors are hoping to make up for their heart-breaking last-minute defeat to Senegal after conceding a penalty with 20 seconds of added time left.

But after they were praised for their fight against a strong Senegal side, they cannot expect a pat on the back if they fail to win against Malawi.

Defender Alec Mudimu is confident that the Warriors will get the result they want against Malawi.

“People don’t take into consideration how good Senegal are. We were so stubborn against them and were so hard to break down. We had chances of our own and I think to get to where we got, it was an achievement. Against Malawi, I have no doubt we will get the result. We know how important it is, not only for the players, but for the whole nation,” he said.

Mapeza was set to make a decision on captain Knowledge Musona, who is struggling with flu, as well as midfielder Kundai Benyu, who got a knock against Senegal.

“We had our COVID-19 tests and everybody is negative. But we have two guys, our captain has got flu-like symptoms, while the other one has an ankle injury. We will see when we have our training session later on if we can make a decision,” he said.

If Musona fails to make it, it would be a blow for Zimbabwe, considering his experience and expertise at this stage.

Musona worked his socks off in the match against Senegal, playing from box to box. Benyu was also impressive although he looked jaded in the second half.

Zimbabwe were this week boosted by the arrival of utility player Jordan Zemura, who trained with the team yesterday.

Zemura had been held up by COVID-19 restrictions and missed the first match.

It will be interesting to find out how Mapeza will set up his charges in their pursuit of three points.

He could depart from the 3-5-2 formation he employed against Senegal, probably for the 4-3-3 set-up which he normally employs.

  • Follow Henry on Twitter @henrymhara

Related Topics