Zimbabwe defender, Teenage Hadebe, has revealed the team’s target at the Four-Nation Tournament set for Malawi from March 18–26.
The Warriors will face Zambia in the semi-finals of the tournament on Saturday, while Kenya will take on hosts Malawi in the other match.
The matches will serve as preparation for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June.
Hadebe, who was speaking ahead of the team’s departure for Lilongwe, stated that Zimbabwe will use the matches to learn from Zambia and Malawi, who have played at the previous two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
“Our opponents have been doing well, respectively, and we will have something to learn from them,” Hadebe said. “Zambia and Malawi made a good statement of themselves at the previous AFCONs, and we will be looking forward to facing them and seeing how well we can respond. Not taking away anything from Kenya as well, they will also be an interesting opponent to face.”
Hadebe tips Warriors coaches
The Konyaspor defender said the matches will be a great opportunity for the coaches to work on combinations and assess the players.
“They allow the coaches to assess the players’ performances. We need these preparations, but I just hope they keep organizing similar games even against other countries so that when we get to the World Cup qualifiers, we will be sharp,” he said.
He has also declared Zimbabwe’s intentions of winning all their matches, starting with Saturday’s battle of the Zambezi against Zambia.
“Every team is unpredictable, and we would want to do our best to win every match and give our all, not only in other matches but in all of them,” Hadebe stated.
Heading into the Four-Nation Tournament, the Warriors will be under the stewardship of FC Platinum and Ngezi Platinum coaches Norman Mapeza and Takesure Chiragwi.
The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) last week indicated that a permanent technical bench will be confirmed soon.
