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Grace Chingoma

Senior Sports Reporter

IT’S Bafana Bafana 1, Warriors 0, in the 2022 World Cup preparations. 

The two teams, which meet in their opening group qualifiers in September, will have contrasting tales early next month. 

The Warriors will, once again, watch from the sidelines as their 2022 World Cup qualifiers opponents regroup, to fine-tune their teams, next month. 

The senior national team, whose coach Zdravko Logarusic, has been on a lengthy holiday in his home country, Croatia, are not involved in any friendly match, during the FIFA window. 

It was created when CAF postponed the World Cup qualifiers, which had been set for next month, to September. 

A number of African nations are taking advantage of the break, to regroup, and assess their teams, before the World Cup qualifiers resume. 

Some are also using the opportunity to prepare for the AFCON finals in Cameroon next year. 

Zimbabwe’s Group G opponents, Ghana and South Africa, have lined up friendly matches, during the June window. 

Even though the Black Stars are the group favourites, they still value the importance of preparations, and taking advantage of any opportunity to have such games, when a window opens. 

The West Africans will, in fact, play two friendly matches while the Warriors will have no match, at all. 

Bafana Bafana will take on Uganda, in a friendly international, on June 10. 

New Bafana coach, Hugo Broos, who named his team at the weekend, will miss the match, as he will be back home in Belgium, for his Covid-19 vaccination. 

His assistants, Cedomir Janevski and Helman “Midnight Express’’ Mkhalele, will take charge of the team. 

Ghana will first travel to meet Morocco, on June 8, before they host Cote d’Ivoire, on June 12, at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium. 

Morocco will play Burkina Faso, after their first encounter, against the Black Stars.

Zambia, the last country to play the Warriors in that AFCON qualifier in March, have lined up three friendly matches. 

Chipolopolo will play against Senegal on June 5, and proceed to Omdurman to play against Sudan, on June 10. 

They will then complete their June FIFA window preparations with a match against Rwanda. 

African champions Algeria might have easily won their 2021 AFCON qualifying group, which featured Zimbabwe, but they are not taking any chances, when it comes to their preparations. 

They have a friendly date against Mauritania, on June 3, in Bilda, before they take on Mali, on June 6, and Tunisia on June 11.

For a team which has some of the best players on the continent, including Riyad Mahrez, fresh from winning another English Premiership title, the Algerians’ approach shows there is no shortcut to success. 

Football agent, George Deda, who has sealed a number of deals for local players in recent months, said it is an unfortunate situation, for the Warriors. 

“It’s very unfortunate that we find ourselves in such a situation even after we have been given a good opportunity by FIFA, to fine-tune out teams, to make sure we have an opportunity to correct ourselves, on all our past mistakes,” said Deda. 

He believes Loga could have benefitted immensely by assessing some of the players he has drafted into his World Cup squad.

“It’s quite unfortunate because, as a country, we were supposed to grab this opportunity, in having friendly matches,’’ he said. 

“It could have given an opportunity to our national team coach, who has never had enough time to prepare the Warriors, for international games. 

“We can easily go back and see that the technical team were crying, in terms of not having adequate preparations, during the CHAN tournament, and this could have been a perfect opportunity. 

“Just like our PSL games, and the resumption of football in Zimbabwe, we have also been lagging behind, in terms of how our neighbours have been conducting their business. 

“It could have been a very good opportunity, for our team, to engage in friendly matches so as to prepare ourselves for the World Cup qualifiers as well as in preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations.’’ 

A football fan and banker, Victor Katsande, says this has always been the Achilles Heel for many of the national teams. 

“We have basically been putting in the same ingredients, all the time, and expecting the taste of the stew to be different,’’ he said. 

“We have the global calendar of FIFA friendly matches but, just like in the past, it has had gone to waste. 

“We shall always play second fiddle, because of our planning. 

“We can’t be blind to see what South Africa, Zambia, and Mozambique are doing while we remain blindfolded.’’