Big guns await Mighty Warriors

18 Sep, 2016 - 00:09 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

Langton Nyakwenda
THE Mighty Warriors will face either hosts Cameroon or holders Nigeria in the group stages of the 10th edition of the Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) whose draw is slated for Yaoundé today. According to the Confederation of African Football (Caf), the eight finalists will be pooled in two groups with Cameroon seeded in Group A while defending champions Nigeria will be the top dogs in Group B.
Ghana and South Africa will be seeded in a second level because of their results at the last three editions of the continental showpiece while the rest of the nations – Egypt, Kenya, Mali and Zimbabwe, will be pooled at a third level.
Mighty Warriors coach Shadreck Mlauzi insists he is not worried about the draw format.
“When you qualify for such big tournaments you expect to play the top teams so nothing is entirely new here.
“We are looking forward to the tournament but at the same time we are also hoping that this time around our preparations are better,” said Mlauzi.
The Mighty Warriors did not have the best of preparations in the build up to the Rio Olympic Games where they fell heavily to Germany, Canada and Australia.
Despite the smacking they got in Brazil, Mlauzi feels the Olympics were “a great and invaluable experience” for his girls.
“We showed glimpses of what we can do against the world’s heavyweights. It is a question of just improving a few things and then we can conquer Africa,” he said.
As part of their preparations, the Mighty Warriors will play Egypt in an international friendly at Rufaro on Tuesday.
Skipper Felistas “Figo” Muzongondi, chief striker Rudo Neshamba, Erina Jeke and Samukeliswe Zulu have been rested and Mlauzi has a pretty good explanation for that move.
“We want them to fully recuperate from their injuries, some of which are chronic. Their experience is so important to the team but we want them at 100 percent efficiency,” he said.
The AWCON finals will run from November 19 to December 3 in Cameroon.

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