Warriors coach Rahman Gumbo and his technical team is on Tuesday expected to meet the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) high performance committee for technical advice. This is in preparations for their Africa Cup of Nations final round tie against Angola.
REPORT BY MICHAEL MADYIRA
The meeting with the technical advisory team headed by Zifa board member competitions Benedict Moyo comes a day after Gumbo announced his squad for the battle of Luanda.
Zifa technical advisor Dieter Klaus-Pagels, technical director Nelson Matongorere, Gibson Homela, Aces Academy director Mark Duvillard and former Warriors defender Charles Sibanda, complete the committee which is tasked to offer expert advice to all the country’s national teams although its work has not been visible.
The advisory team has already conducted in-depth analysis of the penultimate contest played in Harare two weeks ago. the match, which was won 3-1 by the Warriors would be extensively reviewed during Tuesday’s meeting.
Recommendations drawn from shortcomings and strengths of the Warriors as well as Angola’s would be proposed.
Gumbo and his assistants, David Mandigora, Peter Ndlovu and goalkeepers trainer Richard Tswatswa are also expected to present all their technical and camping requirements for the Luanda showdown.
Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze expressed confidence in the committee.
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“We have so much trust in the high performance committee as a technical quality controlling team. Their expertise on the game is undoubted and as Zifa, we believe they will be of immense benefit to our coaches,” Mashingaidze said.
Zimbabwe’s 3-1 lead which they carry to Angola has positioned them for qualification for Africa’s premier national team competition to be staged in South Africa early next year.
While the Warriors are battling to engage stronger sides for a friendly match a few days before the Angola showdown, lightweights Malawi have offered themselves available for a sparring session on October 6.
“We will only be having local-based players available on the date proposed by Malawi. It makes no sense to play that match when most of those players will not make the final team to Angola.
“But it would be an advantage to Malawi because most of their players are local-based,” said Mashingaidze.
Meanwhile, Zifa would engage football associations in countries where some of the Warriors ply their trade to facilitate the smooth release of players called up for national duty.
Zifa would also be particular in ensuring that requests for the release of players are sent 14 days before the day of the match as required by Fifa.
The Warriors preparations in the build up to the first leg tie were chaotic with some players receiving invites late while some reported late for camp without giving convincing explanations.
Despite acknowledging receiving Tinashe Nengomasha’s invite on time, Bidvest Wits could not release the player who also claims he did not receive it on time.
Warriors’ team manager, Nyika Chifamba battled with Black Leopards for the release of Brian Abbas.
