8 November 2008
Zimbabwe under-17 coach Rodwell Dhlakama is confident of restoring some of the country's battered footballing pride when his teenagers take on Angola in the second-round, first-leg tie of the African Youth Championships qualifiers in Luanda this afternoon.
"I am satisfied with the preparations we have done up to this moment, we adequately prepared for the match," he said. "This is evidenced by the time we spent in camp. It allowed us not to only concentrate on our game plan but also on the physical aspect of the players and the psychological stability of every player."
The Young Warriors beat the Angolans in the Confederation of Southern Africa under-17 championships last December.
The travelling team was selected on Thursday.
"I had several good players in camp but as is always the case some good players did not make it because we can only take 18 players," Dhlakama said. "Included in the side is captain Archie Gutu, who was away on trials but rejoined the team during the weekend. We excluded players that are writing public examinations."
Zimbabwe must overcome Angola over the two legs to qualify for the African Youth Championships to be held in Algeria in January next year. The return leg will be played in Harare in a fortnight.
The Young Warriors are in the second round after beating Reunion 2-1 on aggregate. Angola were 4-1 victors over Botswana in the first round.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Zimbabwe Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
