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Callisto Pasuwa

Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa says he understands the expectation placed on his side ahead of the 2016 COSAFA Castle Cup and has promised the Warriors will be well prepared for the regional soccer tournament. The Southern African championship will be staged in Namibia from June 11-25 when Zimbabwe will be hoping to win a record fifth title. The Warriors, who start in the preliminary stages again this year, because of their poor world ranking, got a fair draw last Thursday when they were picked in Group A which also features Swaziland, Seychelles and one of the surprise packages at last year’s tournament, Madagascar.

The winner of the group will meet Zambia in the quarter-finals. Chipolopolo are one of the six top ranked countries that were exempted from the first round matches. Group B is made up of Malawi, Angola, Lesotho and Mauritius while holders Namibia, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique all got byes and will start at the quarter-final stage.

Pasuwa told the COSAFA website that all the three opponents in their group present a challenge as football has evolved over the years. “It is a cliché in football, but it is true, there are no small teams these days and no easy games. All countries are very well prepared and will provide us with a challenge, we will certainly not be underestimating anybody.

“But we are preparing well and to the same standard that we always do,” said Pasuwa. If Zimbabwe make it out of the pool, they will face a quarter-final tie against Zambia, which will be a titanic clash between two of the giants of the region, but Pasuwa is not thinking that far ahead.

“We have to concentrate on our group matches first and if we progress, then we can worry about Zambia. We will take every game as it comes and if that means we face Zambia in the quarter-finals then so be it. We will be ready.”

Pasuwa knows there is a level of expectation on the shoulders of his side, but says this is something they have to deal with all the time. Zimbabwe and Zambia are the most successful teams in the competition, having won four titles apiece while Angola and South Africa have won it thrice each.

However, the Warriors last year failed to make it past the first round stage after they were condemned to a second-place finish in their group following a 4-1 thumping by eventual winners Namibia in the decisive pool match. “People do expect a lot from us and maybe they should, we have a lot of very good players. We will try our hardest to meet those expectations, that’s all I can say.”

The former Dynamos coach is not sure yet whether he will include foreign-based players in his squad for the COSAFA Castle Cup, particularly the large contingent of talent in the South African Premier Soccer League that includes the likes of Khama Billiat, Willard Katsande and Cuthbert Malajila, who scored twice in the 2009 final to see Zimbabwe past Zambia to lift the trophy.

“That is something we are still working on, it is difficult for me to say now, but it is perhaps a question I can answer in two weeks’ time.” Pasuwa also feels that whatever squad he takes to Namibia, the only real key to their success will be good, old-fashioned hard work. “It starts in training, if you work hard in training, then you can get the rewards in the match. We do everything to the best of our ability and that has been paying off for us recently with the results we have been getting.”

Zimbabwe’s last competitive match was a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Swaziland in a 2017 African Nations Cup qualifier in March and that should bode well for their confidence in the COSAFA Castle Cup this year.

COSAFA Castle Cup Draw:
Group A: Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Seychelles, Madagascar

Group B: Malawi, Angola, Lesotho, Mauritius. — COSAFA/Sports Reporter.