YOUNG Warriors coach Jairos Tapera is eyeing gold at the regional Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championships that gets underway in Lesotho on Tuesday.
ALBERT MARUFU STAFF REPORTER
Zimbabwe is in Group D at the 14-country tournament. They will open their campaign with a tie against Swaziland before taking on Botswana.
Hosts Lesotho will be joined in Group A by East African guests Kenya, Comoros Islands and Mauritius, while Group B will have Angola, Mozambique and Madagascar.
Group C comprise defending champions Zambia, South Africa, Namibia and the Seychelles.
Tapera, whose team has been camped in Zvishavane for the past two weeks, said despite lack of practice matches, the Young Warriors had shown the capability of winning the tournament.
“So far we have done well in terms of preparations. We have a number of players with Premier Soccer League (PSL) experience. In any tournament, the goal it not only to reach the final, but to win it as well,” he said.
The coach, whose side leaves today for Maseru, will be banking on the PSL experience of Caps United defender and vice-captain Ronald Pfumbidzai, captain Michael Maipe of Black Mambas and Motor Action’s Wisdom Mutasa, Walter Musona, goalkeeper Donovan Bernard and Albert Kusemwa.
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Musona would be willing to walk in the footsteps of his elder brother Knowledge, whose generation was the last to lay their hands on the tournament with a 3-0 victory over hosts South Africa.
Regional power house Zambia have won the tournament 10 times since its inception in 1983, will open their title defence against Namibia on December 4 while another pre-tournament favourites South Africa, take on the Seychelles.
Nations will play each other in a round-robin format in the first stage with the top team in each pool advancing to the semi-finals.
Group A: Lesotho, Kenya, Comoros Islands and Mauritius Group B: Angola, Mozambique and Madagascar Group C: Zambia, South Africa, Namibia and the Seychelles Group D: Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Botswana
