By Munyaradzi Madzokere
Former Warriors defender James Matola has tipped the boys to make light work of Congo in a crucial Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier that Zimbabwe is set to host at the Nationals Sports Stadium next month.
Debate has been raging on whether the Warriors are going to choke at the last hurdle as they have done too many times in the past and fail to make it to the continental championships.
Sunday Chidzambga’s men need just a point to progress to their fourth Afcon finals appearance.
“The boys will qualify and they have to do it themselves. As long as they know what they want, they will definitely qualify,” Matola told Standardsport.
“We have home ground advantage and the 12th man [supporters] must work in our favour, so we must go out there in numbers to support our boys.”
The Warriors have led the Group G standings from day one but have so far wasted two opportunities to confirm their ticket to the Egypt finals set for June and July.
Needing a win against, African giants Democratic Republic of Congo in October the Warriors settled for a draw and could have wrapped up qualification with a draw against Liberia in November, but went on to lose the match.
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Now the team has to hold its own and qualify on the last day with at least a draw.
“Pressure will always be there. As players, they need to stick to their game plan and focus on the job at hand. They must play as if it’s a life and death situation especially considering the honour to wear that jersey,” Matola said.
“We have the quality to make us proud, they have come far to be where they are now. There is only 90 minutes left for them to finish their journey to the ‘Promised Land’.”
Matola was part of the Warriors squad, coached by Charles Mhlauri, that qualified for the 2006 Egypt Afcon finals.
He believes that Chidzambga has what it takes to guide the team to the premier Africa football event.
“He has been there before and being the first coach to qualify our nation for Afcon, he knows what needs to be done for us to qualify. It will be historic for him to take us once again to Afcon,” he said.
The Congo tie will be the first national team assignment for the new Zifa board led by Felton Kamambo.
Tickets for the tie are already on sale after Zifa introduced online ticketing following the chaos that rocked the previous home tie against DRC.
Chidzambga is set to announce the squad for the fixture this week with England-based striker Macauley Bonne looking to join the squad as well as Germany-based Kelly Lunga.
South Africa-based midfielder Butholezwe Ncube, who has been in top form for Amazulu, could also get a call-up as well as Baroka goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze.
However, Chidzambga is likely to retain faith in the bulk of the team that has he has used during the campaign.
