The Zimbabwe senior national football team (the Warriors) is beaming with confidence ahead of the match against the Copper Bullets (Chipolopolo) of Zambia in the Battle of the Zambezi encounter at the National Sports Stadium tomorrow evening.
Speaking during the Zimbabwe vs Zambia pre-match media briefing held in the capital this afternoon, Warriors coach, Zdravko Logarusic, said he is going to give a chance to players who have not had enough time to showcase what they can do for the national team.
He said giving chance to other players, would work in the nation’s favour, as this would enable the technical bench to protect players carrying yellow cards from being suspended for the first game at the AFCON finals.
“I will first judge the player’s character, passion for the country and then consider how good he is as a player.
“I want players with commitment and passion to play for Zimbabwe. That is how we build a team. You saw a team against Algeria, you saw a team against Botswana,” he said.
Logarusic added that Zimbabwean players have proved the love for their country. “We need Warriors for us to have a team, Character first, Desire second, then we can assess how good the player is,” he said.
Meanwhile, Warriors midfielder and vice-captain, Ovidy Karuru said, although they have already qualified for the finals set for Cameroon, the team will still play to win the Battle for the Zambezi tomorrow.
“We are going to play the game tomorrow to win, for the pride of the nation.
“There is no joy in qualifying when we lose the final qualifier.
“It will be exciting because most of the players across the teams know each other,” he said.
-Zwnews
