Go Mighty Warriors Go!

Sport
MIGHTY Warriors senior players have issued a warning to highly-fancied Cameroon, and delivered a rousing rally cry to teammates, by referring to this afternoon’s 2016 Rio Olympics Preliminary Competition African Zone final round second leg match at Rufaro Stadium as the most important game of their careers.

MIGHTY Warriors senior players have issued a warning to highly-fancied Cameroon, and delivered a rousing rally cry to teammates, by referring to this afternoon’s 2016 Rio Olympics Preliminary Competition African Zone final round second leg match at Rufaro Stadium as the most important game of their careers.

BY HENRY MHARA

Vice-captain and goalkeeper Chido Dzingirai, star midfielder Merjury Nyaumwe and striker Rutendo “Madzimai” Makore, believe the team can overturn the 2-1 defeat from the first leg and make history by qualifying for the world’s foremost sports competition.

The Mighty Warriors require just a 1-0 win or any two-goal margin to progress to the finals and become the country’s first-ever football team to qualify for a major global event, while the Indomitable Lionesses will need to avoid defeat at all costs to go through.

While admitting it’s a huge task ahead of them, the trio sounded confident that the team would advance — something that they believe will open a lot of opportunities for the players.

“We will be opening doors for ourselves by qualifying for the finals. It’s a major tournament and if we can go there and do well, who knows, we can get noticed by foreign teams, which would be good for our careers,” Dzingirai said.

Nyaumwe, expected to engineer operations for the team from the midfield, is equally optimistic.

“We just have to improve in some areas. We saw that they attack through the wings and if we can stop them in that area, then we would have immobilised them. If selected, I will give my all to try and qualify for the finals.”

The forceful Makore came in as a second half substitute in Yaoundé, but the striker is expected to play a leading role tomorrow as the team seeks the all-important goal.

“They are women, just like us, with two legs each, so there is nothing to fear. They are not invincible at all,” she added.

The squad had their final training session at the match venue yesterday without the suspended Emmaculate Msipa, the only grey area in the team’s preparations for the crucial match, according to coach Shadreck Mlauzi.

The gate charges for the match are $1 for the rest of the ground, $3 for the upper grandstand and $5 for the VIP.