France-based Warriors forward Tinotenda Kadewere has said his focus is on the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to be played in South Africa this month and is not paying attention to “armchair critics”.
This comes after the Nantes forward came under criticism on social media platforms for his poor performances in Warriors colours.
Speaking to The Herald, Kadewere, who has scored three goals in the past seven games, said he doesn’t pay attention “to some few activists”. He said:
I am a professional footballer who doesn’t pay much attention to what people say. Whether I am being criticised or hyped, it doesn’t matter to me.
Look, my job is to serve the country. So the most important thing for me is to do that with utmost dedication.
If I get the chance to play, I put my body to the line, to try and give my all for the love of my country.
I feel the ultimate satisfaction of donning the national badge, which was my dream while still growing up.
So I can’t pay attention to some few activists, who might have some score to settle with me anyway.
Zimbabwe is bigger and more important than that. So I can’t be swayed by any pseudo-activists. We have crucial games coming and that’s where my attention is at the moment.
Kadewere insisted that a striker’s performance should not be solely assessed based on the number of goals they score. He said:
We can’t be so naive to think that a striker’s role is all about scoring goals.
You are up there and sometimes come deep to help in midfield roles and get to provide goalscoring chances for teammates.
Sometimes, as a striker, to be realistic, you are not always lucky with goals. You get chances and you put some of them away and miss the other chances.
But you are always trying to put your act together. I feel very proud to represent my country and I am very hurt if things do not go our way.
I am glad most football stakeholders in the country do acknowledge our efforts and are always in full support of the team, including rallying behind every player picked to do duty for the country.
Last week, former Warriors player and coach Johannes Ngodzo queried the exclusion of leading goal scorers in the local premiership from the Warriors squad for the two matches.
He argued that the likes of Lynoth Chikuhwa, who plays for Highlanders and is the top goal scorer with 7 goals, and Never Rauzhi of Bulawayo Chiefs who has netted six times, should have been called up for the Warriors.
Zimbabwe will “host” Lesotho at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg on June 7 before taking on Bafana Bafana at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on June 11.
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