The ManicaPost
NOW that the dust raised by the debate on what went wrong in Monrovia, Liberia on Sunday is settling down, it is time to learn from the mistakes made in the build up to that crucial encounter.The Warriors wasted a golden opportunity to qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals with a game to spare after succumbing to a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Liberia in their penultimate qualifying match in Monrovia.
For the second time in a month, the Warriors have blown a golden chance to seal their place at the 2019 Afcon finals with the latest setback being a demoralising first defeat, in this qualifying campaign.
The Warriors, who needed just a point from the match to confirm their place at next year’s continental show-piece, looked to be playing for just that as they lacked teeth, strength of mind and the much needed cutting edge which has characterised their campaign so far. They were not simply the same team that had raised a lot of hope among many Zimbabweans when they started this campaign.
The contest in Monrovia should have been over in the first half but Tino Kadewere missed some excellent chances while both captain Knowledge Musona and Ovidy Karuru were guilty of taking too long to pull the trigger when through on goal.
After failing to convert the chances that came their way in the first half and after the break, the Warriors were duly punished as the hosts broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute.
The result saw the Warriors remain at the top of Group G on eight points, but they now have the Lone Stars just one point behind them in second place and the Warriors will still qualify with a draw in their last match at home against Congo Brazzaville.
Democratic Republic Congo and Congo Brazzaville have six and five points respectively after they played out to a draw earlier in the day on Sunday.
All four teams still have a shot at qualifying for the 2019 AFCON, with the group set to be decided with the final round of matches in March next year.
What this means is that a campaign that should have been over in Harare last month, had they beaten DRC in a game that ended in a controversial draw after Knox Mutizwa’s goal was somehow ruled out, will now be decided on the final day next March.
Again, as was the case on Sunday, all the Warriors require is, at least, just a point against Congo-Brazzaville — who have leaked five goals in their two away matches in this campaign — for them to cross the line and make it to Cameroon.
On paper that looks pretty easy but nothing is ever easy in this game and the Warriors will be burdened by the pressure of delivering at home in a match they know a loss will have devastating consequences for their campaign. With the head-to-head format being used in these qualifiers, a loss for the Warriors would be the end of their campaign because, although they will end with the same number of points as Congo-Brazzaville, the Central Africans will qualify by virtue of having a better record in matches between the two teams.
The other match in Kinshasa between the DRC and Liberia on the same day will not count for anything for the Warriors because all the possible results there — a win for the hosts, a win for the visitors or a draw — will not help our cause should we lose our final game.
A draw in that match in Kinshasa, coupled with a loss for the Warriors at home, means that three teams — Zimbabwe, Congo-Brazzaville and Liberia — will all end on eight points.
Such a scenario will mean that all results against the DRC, who would have finished last in the group, will be thrown away and the Warriors — who took four points from them — will suffer the most as they will plunge into bottom place of the three-team mini-group on four points.
Liberia will lose only two points from back-to-back draws against the DRC and they will have six points while Congo-Brazzaville will lose just a point they picked against their neighbours and will have seven points.
In the event either Liberia or the DRC win that final match in Kinshasa, one of the two teams will join Congo-Brazzaville in Cameroon should the Central Africans win in Harare in March next year.
This means that the only two results, which will not have any disastrous consequences for the Warriors next March, are either a win or a draw for them in their home match against Congo-Brazzaville.
It is against this background that we sincerely urge Zifa to put in place sound preparations for the national team ahead of the Warriors encounter and at the same time exhort our technical team to ensure that they will not once again gamble with players that have not been part of this impressive campaign, or give much game time to players that have not been active back at their clubs. At the end of the day, all we need is to qualify for Cameroon 2019 and raise our flag high as a nation.
