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FOR OUR NATION . . . Warriors team manager Shariff Mussa (right) discusses a point with head coach Callisto Pasuwa during the senior national team’s training session at the National Sports Stadium yesterday

Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
WARRIORS team manager Sharif Mussa says Zimbabwe does not belong to the lower rungs of world football after the national team rose 11 places up the ladder as they continued to push their way out of the woods.

Zimbabwe are now 115 on the globe and 32nd in Africa and Mussa appreciated the move which he believes could be a good morale-booster ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Malawi at the National Sports Stadium this Sunday.

Only recently, Zimbabwe hit their record-equalling all-time low after plunging to number 131 in the world but a good run in the qualifiers has seen them back on the upward trajectory.

“Obviously the FIFA rankings are very important because of the fact that they kind of give us the yardstick to measure the quality of the game we are playing,” said Mussa.

“They also show how far we have gone as a nation, of course, in terms of producing results.

“But I believe we are better than that.

“The fact that the team has risen shows that the boys are doing something right to get us back where we belong. We are slowly getting there, we just need to put our house in order and focus on getting results.

“Zimbabwe football quality is far much higher compared to that of some of the countries ranked above us. It’s probably because they have access to more international matches than us.

“But we have better quality players and most of them, as you can see, are doing very well at their foreign clubs.”

Zimbabwe are looking to continue with the battle to improve their rankings by winning against Malawi at the weekend. Before the start of the qualifiers, we were the lowest ranked team in Group L which also included Swaziland and Malawi.

Ironically, we find ourselves at the top of the group — three points clear — with just two rounds of play remaining.

The Warriors thrashed Swaziland 4-0 in their last qualifier to reach eight points.

However, they still face a strong challenge from Swaziland and Guinea who are on five points each ahead of their make or break clash in Mbabane this Sunday.

Swaziland are now the lowest ranked team in the group on number 117 while Malawi are a bit higher on 107.

Guinea, who rose five places remain the best placed side on 58th position in the world and ninth in Africa. Zimbabwe are 32nd in Africa after moving seven places up on the continental ranking.

“Malawi are ranked higher than us at the moment but the reality which should tell a story is that they are at the bottom of the table in our group.

“So, the fact that we are below them on the rankings should not really disturb us. It’s about how you prepare, how you apply yourselves and the results you get. Above everything, results measure success,” said Mussa.

The Warriors continued with their preparations yesterday when they held a double training session with all players now in camp except for Nyasha Mushekwi who could not be released by his Chinese team Dalian Yifang.

The technical team yesterday tried various combinations in match situations and are likely to conclude their final 18 today. It appeared competition for places was stiff and coach Callisto Pasuwa should be having torrid nights.

The only worry was on defender Lawrence Mhlanga who was forced to sit out of yesterday’s training after picking a knock on his foot.

“The boys trained well but we had one slight worry on Lawrence Mhlanga who picked a knock yesterday (Wednesday). He has been rested but he will be assessed again in the afternoon to see if there is anything serious.

“Otherwise everyone else is fit for the match. The spirit in the camp is still high especially coming from that big win in our last match against Swaziland. That victory meant a lot. It may spur them to want to do even more because it feels good to win matches.

“Right now the atmosphere in the camp is electrifying. The guys are bubbling with confidence, everyone is raring to go. We just have to avoid complacency,” said Mussa.