The Sunday Mail
THE leader of the Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association Eddie “Mboma” Nyatanga has called on the nation to believe in the Mighty Warriors ahead of their crunch Olympic Games opener against former world champions Germany on Wednesday.
The Mighty Warriors are making their debut appearance at the Rio Olympic Games in Brazil and are also in the same group with Australia and Canada – all top 10 ranked nations.
However, Nyatanga is confident The Mighty Warriors will upset the applecart in Brazil.
“These girls have done the nation proud by becoming the first football team to represent Zimbabwe at the Olympic Games so they deserve massive support,” said Nyatanga from Dubai where he is on business.
“Even though the supporters did not get the chance to travel to Rio, I know they will be cheering the girls in spirit. As fans we would have loved to be there singing Yava Nyama Yekugocha but getting to the Olympics is a bit complex but we are solidly behind the girls.”
The Mighty Warriors, ranked 93rd in the world, will play their second match in Group F against 10th placed Canada on August 6.
They complete their group games with a date against world number five Australia on August 9 at the Forte Nova Arena.
“They (Mighty Warriors) shocked all and sundry when they knocked out African giants Cameroon in the qualifiers.
“I believe they can go on and show the world that Zimbabwe can also play women’s football. As fans we always want to see our teams doing well, we are not about football politics but the game itself.
“However, it is clear that with stability and hard working Zifa leader like Phil (Chiyangwa) good things can happen and we once again call for unity in football.”
The Mighty Warriors are already in Brazil and were boosted just before departure by the return to full fitness of chief striker Rudo Neshamba.
The dreadlocked star missed the African Women’s Cup of Nations qualifiers with a knee injury.
On Friday the team gave a decent account of themselves as they fell 0-3 to China in a friendly match in Sao Paulo.
A brace by Yang Li and a strike by Wang Shanshan carried the day for the Asian giants who are 12th on the Fifa women’s rankings.
