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Zimbabwe: Benjani Feels the Heat
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 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
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The Herald (Harare)
4 July 2008
Posted to the web 4 July 2008
Lawrence Moyo And Augustine Hwata
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.
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Valinhos' charges did well to beat Namibia 2-0 at Rufaro in the next match with Mushangazhike grabbing a brace.
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