Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Lawrence Moyo And Augustine Hwata
4 July 2008
Harare — BENJANI MWARUWARI is feeling the heat as the pressure mounts in the wake of the Warriors' stuttering 2010 World Cup/Nations Cup campaign, but believes the team can turn it all around in their final two matches against Guinea and Namibia.
The 30-year-old Warriors skipper has been heavily criticised for both his failure to score in four matches in these qualifiers and his leadership role as the team stumbles from one bad result to the other.
Benjani and his Warriors are third in Group Two of the African qualifiers and could crash out of contention if they lose to Guinea in Harare on September 6 and Kenya beat Namibia in Nairobi.
A victory against Guinea, though, could bring the Warriors back into contention and they could even win the group should they go on and beat Namibia in Windhoek while Kenya lose their tough away trip to Conakry where they will face the Syli Nationale in their final match.
Benjani leads an attack that has only scored twice in four matches in the current qualifiers with both goals coming from Gilbert Mushangazhike in the 2-0 home win over Namibia.
The Manchester City striker has not scored for the Warriors for two years now - his last goal coming at the 2006 African Cup of Nations finals in Egypt when Zimbabwe beat Ghana 2-1 in the final Group D game on January 31.
Benjani revealed that he was not happy with his lengthy goal drought - a key factor that the fans blame for the Warriors' poor showing in the current qualifiers.
But the captain believes this is not the time to bury heads into the sand in shame, but for the Warriors to rise, like a Phoenix from the ashes, and be counted in Group Two.
"Anything can happen in football and we can still progress to the next round.
"We can still progress to the next round if we win the two remaining games.
"Of course, we will be out if we don't beat Guinea at home and it's something we are well aware of."
He said he was aware of the criticism that is being directed at him in particular, and the national team in general, by its loyal fans.
"I know people are saying a lot of things after the game against Kenya and we have to respect their views.
"If things change for the better, the very same people will be leading in praising us.
"I am also aware that people are saying a lot of things about my failure to score goals, but the thing is that I am trying very hard to score.
"It's not like I don't want to score, but things are just not happening for me and hopefully I will get it right soon."
Benjani revealed that despite his questionable form in the Warriors and the growing criticism, he was not going to quit the national team.
"I will continue playing for the national team for at least two more years regardless of whether I'm scoring goals or not."
The Warriors have continued with their steady ascent on the Fifa rankings despite registering only one win during the 2010 World Cup/Nations Cup campaign last month.
According to the latest Fifa/Coca-Cola World Rankings released this week, Zimbabwe moved three places up the ladder to 82nd place on the world table
The rankings were released following the end of the Euro 2008 championship as well as the first pool of fixtures for Africa's World Cup qualifiers.
The latest rankings factored in matches played between June 17 and now and for the Warriors it means only the disappointing 0-0 draw against Kenya at Rufaro was considered.
Going into their opening Group Two qualifier against Guinea last month, Zimbabwe were ranked 95th in the world - three places up from the previous ranking of 98 in April.
Zimbabwe were by then ranked the 23rd best team in Africa but eased up the ladder just prior to the first qualifying game in Conakry.
The Warriors got off to a good start when they held Guinea to a goalless draw in Conakry to improve their ranking.
Valinhos' charges did well to beat Namibia 2-0 at Rufaro in the next match with Mushangazhike grabbing a brace.
But the 0-2 defeat in Kenya on June 14 took the steam off the Warriors as the rankings were considered for the mid-month of June.
Zimbabwe had, despite the defeat to Kenya, moved into 85th place from the previous rating of 95 just before the end of May.
Then came the 0-0 draw against Kenya.
The result, however, was enough to see the Warriors moving three places up on the world ratings but remaining the 18th best side in Africa in the period under review.
Zimbabwe have accumulated 421 points on the latest rankings, a considerable 54-point gain from the 367 they had amassed by June 17.
It, therefore, means that since Valinhos began directing operations from the bench on his first game against South Africa in April, the Warriors have steadily risen.
Kenya are also smiling after jumping a massive 23 places up the ladder.
The big movement by Kenya follows their draw over Zimbabwe, coupled with previous wins over the same opponents and Guinea last month.
Kenya, who lead Group Two of the African qualifiers with seven points, are now in 92nd place in the world.
Guinea have also risen two places to 39th place in the world and remain a threat to Zimbabwe's chances of progressing from the same group.
The West Africans are seventh in Africa while the other Group Two rivals Namibia are ranked 131st in the world with 224 points.
Cameroon remain the best team in Africa with 1 011 points although a 309-point deficit from the mid-June ranking.
The Indomitable Lions are the 13th best team in the world while Ghana are second on the Caf rankings.
Egypt, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, Guinea, Senegal, Tunisia and Mali complete the top 10 places in Africa.
Newly-crowned European champions Spain are the top team in the world with 1 557 points.
Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the final to replace world champions Italy.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's Mighty Warriors moved four places up to 95 on the women's ranking as the United States, Germany and Sweden lead the table.
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