The Warriors of Zimbabwe take on the Brave Warriors of Namibia at the ongoing COSAFA Cup tournament in South Africa this Sunday with head coach Zdravko Logarusic in the spotlight.
The Croat’s suitability for the national football team coaching job has been questioned in recent days after his Warriors served two uninspiring draws at the COSAFA tournament.
Zimbabwe played a lifeless draw in the opening match against Mozambique on Wednesday before pulling the match out of the fire having gone two goals down to share spoils with Malawi on Friday.
Goals from Blessing Sarupinda and Ben Musaka rescued a point for Zimbabwe, thus avoiding a humiliating defeat at the hands of The Flames.
Logarusic record with the Warriors is worrisome, to say the least, having won only one of his first 10 matches in charge of the senior national team.
Speaking after the draw with Malawi, the Croat blamed the inactivity of local football, saying he was preparing the players for the African Nations Championships (CHAN). He said:
I am happy that I finished with eight boys, who are playing in the local league. The local league did play since November 2019 and this is 2021.
Instead of playing 40 to 50 games since November 2019, they have played just five games. We brought these local-based players because we are preparing for CHAN next year.
From the 23 players that usually play for me, I have only brought one player. No one is going to win or lose a place in the team because of one game, but they must show consistency.
I have a plan, I am following my plan and I am following ideas. We have to think about the next game and we have to think about CHAN.
Initially, the plan for Logarusic was to use the COSAFA to fine-tune for World Cup qualifiers, which are tentatively set for September as well as Chan qualifiers.
And suddenly it looks like the Cosafa Cup has no bearing whatsoever on the World Cup qualifiers for the coach.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s crucial Group B encounter against Nambia will be played at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. The kickoff is at 2 pm.
The Warriors complete their Group B matches against Senegal on Tuesday.