Lo Taonga
7 October 2008
Harare — Zimbabwe's 2010 Fifa World Cup hopes suffered a body blow on Tuesday after England-based captain Benjani Mwaruwari was ruled out of the Warriors' last Group 2 qualifier against Namibia set for Windhoek on Saturday.
Mwaruwari was scheduled for a return to the Warriors fold after missing Zimbabwe's last qualifier against Guinea on 7 September at Rufaro Stadium, which ended in a disappointing goalless draw.
That stalemate cost Zimbabwe an automatic place in the last draw of the 2010 qualifiers, with Group 2 rivals Kenya and Guinea now headed for a showdown in Conakry, Guinea on Saturday that will settle who claims the sole ticket from this pool.
The Harambee Stars head into the weekend matches leading Group 2 on 10 points, while Syli Nationale are second on eight, Warriors third on six and Namibia's Brave Warriors last on three points.
Zimbabwe national team assistant manager Charles Dzvairo confirmed Mwaruwari - who was injured in August during preseason training with club side Manchester City-is out of the tie, and so are Cyprus-based defender Noel Kaseke and Dynamos midfielder Justice Majabvi.
"Benjani will not be coming for the Namibia match as he has not fully recovered from injury. Noel Kaseke has also communicated that he received a knock two weeks ago, and has, therefore, been ruled out. Justice Majabvi is also out through injury after pulling a thigh muscle in training last week. But the rest of the players are in camp and are looking forward to Saturday's match," said Dzvairo.
Zimbabwe face Namibia chasing an unlikely place in the final qualification process, with the Warriors still fancying their chances of being among the eight best runners-up from the twelve qualifying pools.
A loss for Guinea- and a win for Zimbabwe- will see the Warriors claim second spot behind Kenya, and with it, an outside chance of sneaking into the final draw. On the other hand, a win for Guinea will blow the Warriors out of the equation with both the Harambee Stars and Syli Nationale making it to the final draw.
But the Warriors will take to the battlefield without Mwaruwari and Kaseke, with both key men having been expected to play pivotal roles in Windhoek, in what analysts here have dismissed as a lost cause.The Warriors are scheduled to leave for Windhoek on Thursday, with the match set for Saturday at 1600hrs.
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