The Warriors anchor the four team group with two points from six matches, just below Mozambique who are on three points from the same number of Games.
Topping the group are Egypt on 15 points, followed by Guinea on 10. These top two are meeting on Tuesday.
This is the first time in Zimbabwe’s long history in international football that the Warriors have finished bottom of the table in a World Cup tournament and without a win.
In this campaign, the Warriors have lost four matches, two each to Egypt and Guinea and have managed draws against Mozambique, the first one ending goalless in Maputo last year.
In fact, the Mambas of Mozambique could be cursing themselves for their failure to win this match after their only scorer Maninho could not beat George Chigova in a one-on-one situation with only six minutes remaining.
The Warriors, though, had managed to take the lead through captain Masimba Mambare in the 42nd minute before the Mambas equalised through Maninho 20 minutes later.
In the second half, the Mambas looked like they were the home side, controlling the game well but were denied by the brilliance of goalkeeper George Chigova who surprisingly has been ignored by most of the coaches in the past.
Credit, though, should also go to Kaiser Chiefs midfielder, Willard Katsande, who controlled the midfield well, defending and moving forward, but unfortunately, was almost alone in the department.
Less than 6000 people were at the stadium following Zifa’s decision to charge $5 for the rest of the ground space in a game which that the fans new was of no significance.
The Warriors now shift their focus to the international friendly match against South Africa at the Orlando Stadium Tuesday and hope to win and significantly improve their world ranking in the wake of the draw with Mozambique.
Post published in: Football