Zimbabwe can book quarterfinal spot

Saul Chaminuka © Backpagepix

Zimbabwe can book a place in the quarterfinals of the Cosafa Cup on Tuesday when they take on the Seychelles in their second Group A clash at the Moruleng Stadium.

If the Warriors follow up their opening day 2-0 win over Mauritius on Sunday with another victory against Seychelles (kick-off 17h00) it will take them to six points in the pool.

That will be enough for a quarterfinal place if there is no winner in the second match of the day, Namibia’s clash with the Mauritians.

Zimbabwe certainly go into the game as favourites, though Seychelles put up a fine battling display in holding Namibia to a goalless draw in their opener and look an improved side on previous editions of the regional championship.

“Seychelles are a very organised team in terms of the kind of game they played against Namibia. We have to play a much faster game and try to use our wingers more to get behind them with crosses,” Zimbabwe assistant coach Saul Chaminuka told reporters.

“Of course, we will also attack through the middle in order to vary our game but definitely we are going to go at them right from the start.

“I would want another 2-0 win or even better and we should score early to ensure we do not overwork ourselves because we have another important game against Namibia [on Thursday] which is another must-win match.”

This will be the first Cosafa Cup meeting between the two countries.

Namibia know they will likely need a win against Mauritius (kick-off 19h30) to set up a potential Group decider against Zimbabwe later in the week.

The Brave Warriors created enough chances against Seychelles, but a lack of cutting edge in front of goal cost them the win. Coach Ricardo Mannetti is planning changes to his side.

“We have had enough of these now [0-0 draws]. I need to make drastic changes to the team and make sure we have someone who can score goals,” he said.

“I have tried all I have and now I need to bring in Benson Shilongo and see if he can answer our goal-scoring problem.

“We dominated the game against Seychelles and we could have scored a lot of goals but they defended well and held their own. We got a draw and I believe we can go ahead and get the results we need against Zimbabwe and Mauritius. I believe my team has what it takes to win.”

Waiting for the winner of this pool in the quarterfinals is defending champions Zambia. If Zimbabwe advance that Last 8 game will be a repeat of the last two Cosafa Cup finals.