..seven games no win, Mapeza’s situation at the national team…
17 January 2022
Jeremiah Harrison
Sports Writer
Warriors are out of the 2021 AFCON tournament despite having played a game less.
Warriors coach Norman Mapeza expressed displea after his defeat to Malawi in their second AFCON group match he remains positive.
The Zimbabwean gaffer’s aim is to snatch at least three points from the tournament even though Zimbabwe remains at the bottom of group B.
“It’s disappointing that we lost the two matches against Senegal and Malawi, but there are a number of positives we can take from it,” he said.
“We have got a number of players that are playing this tournament for the first time and this experience will be good for them,” he added in a subdued voice as he struggled to come to terms with the reality that it was all over for the team.
Mapeza’s contract runs out at the end of the AFCON tournament having being appointed solely to take charge for the team for this particular engagement.
2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament qualifiers begins in March and its not yet clear if Mapeza will continue with the squad.
From November 2020 Zimbabwe national team has played 21 games winning one against Botswana in 2021 AFCON qualifier with a streak of 13 losses.
They drew 7 games in all competitions.
Ever since Mapeza took over he has been on the touch line in 7 matches has registered zero wins, lost 5 games and drew two games.
Mapeza’s team has scored 3 goals and conceded nine goals keeping only one clean sheet.
Social media pundits are saying Mapeza and the sacked Croatian coach Zdravko Logarusic are the two sides of the same coin.
The current squad has players that have had all the hype in their respective clubs but have failed to live up to expectations.
Since Tino Kadewere moved to France in 2019 and got all the hype and harsh tags on social media, he has scored only one goal in the gold and green Warriors strip.
In the aforementioned period, Knowledge Musona has scored only two goals for Zimbabwe, a free kick and a penalty.
When Khama Billiat retired from international football in November last year, he had gone for two years without registering a goal or assist for Zimbabwe.
This team has not won a match at the National Sports Stadium since September 2019.
In 2019, the Warriors stepped on Egyptian soil for the 32nd edition of the AFCON finals with a hopeful nation behind them.
The squad assembled by Sunday Mhofu Chidzambwa, was arguably the strongest ever to represent Zimbabwe at the continental football showpiece. But, it failed dismally, scoring just one goal the entire tournament.
On Tuesday Mapeza’s squad will face Guinea in their last group match before flying back home.
Zim GBC News