with a titanic battle against mighty Senegal at Port Said in Egypt but could not contain the marauding ‘Lions of Teranga’ who scored two late goals to subdue a stubborn Zimbabwe.
But it was Kawondera’s perfomance which caught the eye of Jose Maurinho’s assistant at Chelsea. Clarke observed after the match that he was impressed by Kawondera’s astounding performance, especially for someone not playing regular club football.
‘I would be very surprised if he finishes the tournment without a club approaching him for his services. He was just fantastic up there,’ said Clarke, who is also a match pundit for British Euro-Sport.
Kawondera frightened the Senegalese defence whenever he was in possession of the ball and his all round performance, especially his bustling runs in the second half rightly earned him praise from both Clarke and former England star John Fashanu.
His commitment was reflected in his determined challenges on the Senegalese back four. He kept committing himself bravely to the Warriors’ cause and he grew in confidence throughout.
Kawondera, who has risen through the ranks from captaining the Zimbabwe Under-17 squad in the late 1990’s has not been playing competitive club football for much of 2005. Zimbabwe coach Charles Mhlauri has however kept faith in him and he has repaid that faith by almost single-handedly helping Zimbabwe qualify for the second consecutive African Nations Cup appearance.
Post published in: Zimbabwe Sports News