Mighty Warriors to meet Germany in tough Olympics draw

By Henry Mhara

The Mighty Warriors face a tough prospect at their maiden appearance at the Olympics after they were drawn in a tough group for Rio 2016, but coach Shadreck Mlauzi is confident they will produce some shocks.

The Zimbabwe senior women’s football team were drawn in Group F together with Germany, Australia and Canada, who claimed bronze at the 2012 London Games, in a draw conducted in Rio de Janeiro yesterday.

All the teams that the Mighty Warriors face are ranked in the top 10 of the Fifa World Rankings.
The Germans are ranked second, Australia fifth and Canada 10th, while Mlauzi’s side, which sits on number 95, is the lowest ranked of all the 12 participating teams
The tournament runs from August 3 to 19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Yet Mlauzi is confident they will defy the odds come August.

Neighbours South Africa are in Group E with hosts Brazil, China and Sweden.

Defending Olympics champions, United States are in Group G with New Zealand, France and Colombia. The top two teams in each group, plus the two best third-placed teams, advance to the quarter-finals.

Mlauzi is, however, unfazed by the profile of the countries they will face, declaring that his team will shock the world.

“It’s fair (the draw) enough considering the tournament we are talking about,” he said.

“I expected nothing less because this is the highest level of competition involving the best 12 teams. So I’m not really surprised. We could have played anyone because they are all top teams.”

Mlauzi believes his side, which has also qualified for the Women Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Cameroon in November — three months after the Olympics — is good enough to reach the last four in Rio.

“People are looking at the rankings and think Zimbabwe will be the whipping team, but we will shock the world. We have actually set our targets for the tournament and we are looking at going through to the quarter-finals, then we will take it from there. It will not be easy, but we are a talented group and with the right support, I don’t see why we cannot do well,” he said.

“People should know that modern football is very unpredictable. Those teams might be ranked above us, but the training is similar and what might be different are just the resources.

If the corporate world and the government support us, we will obviously do well. Who would have thought Barcelona, with all the top players, would be booted out of the Uefa Champions League by Atletico Madrid (on Wednesday)? Modern football is all about planning and tactics.”

The coach has drawn up an ambitious programme to prepare the team for the Olympics, including trips and training camps in Europe, South America, Oceania and the US.

“The roadmap is there, a comprehensive document with all our plans, including the teams we want to play before the tournament. But it needs funding. My wish is for us to regroup for camp at the end of this month. The plan includes tours to Germany, Norway, Sweden and the US,” he said.

“We would also want to play friendly matches in New Zealand and Uruguay just before the tournament because we understand they have similar climatic conditions as Brazil. We want the girls exposed to high standards, as well as market the players in those countries we will be touring because we want them to be playing professional football after the tournament.”

Draw:

Group E: Brazil, China PR, Sweden, South Africa
Group F: Zimbabwe, Germany, Canada, Australia
Group G: USA, New Zealand, France, Colombia

Source: NewsDay