Robson Sharuko
Senior Sports Reporter
IT has been a horror show for Zimbabwe, at football tournaments, in the past 18 months, with just TWO wins and ELEVEN losses, leaving the national game in the intensive care unit.
While all the focus has been on Croatian Comedian, Zdravko Logarusic, and his misfiring Warriors, who have just finished another tournament bottom of the overall table, the reality is that it has been a nightmarish run, for all the national teams.
For the second straight tournament, under Loga, the Warriors finished bottom of the overall standings, without a victory, in the seven games they have played, at the CHAN finals and COSAFA Championships.
Loga and his men finished bottom of the pile, among the 10 countries which featured at the COSAFA Championships, with two points, from their four group games, in which they lost the other two.
The Warriors had the same number of points (two), as Malawi, who completed their campaign with a 1-2 defeat, at the hands of guest nation Senegal yesterday, but finished bottom, because of an inferior goal difference.
South Africa topped the overall group standings, with 10 points, while Senegal were in second place, with nine points, and Eswatini, Namibia and Mozambique had seven points each.
The Warriors had the worst attack, at the COSAFA Cup, ending their campaign with just three goals, including a penalty, the same tally as Lesotho, who finished bottom of Group A.
However, Lesotho, who conceded 12 goals, in their four matches at the tournament, were not the worst team, at this year’s regional football showcase.
At least, they managed a single win, helping them finish above the Warriors, on the final table, featuring all the 10 nations.
It mirrors the Warriors’ miserable campaign, under Loga, at the CHAN finals, in Cameroon last year, when they finished bottom, on the overall rankings table, among the 16 nations, at that showcase
They lost all their three games, at the tournament, against Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Mali.
Loga’s men had the worst attack, after scoring just one goal, in their three group games, at the CHAN finals, when defender Patson Jaure scored, in the 1-3 defeat, to Mali.
The Warriors were the only team, at the CHAN finals, in Cameroon last year, to lose all their three group matches, and come out without even a point, to their credit.
Uganda and Namibia also had a poor tournament, at the CHAN finals but, unlike the Warriors, they were able to pick, at least a point, for their troubles, at the showcase.
Even Namibia, who could not score just a single goal, in their three matches, ended ranked higher, on the overall standings, than the Warriors, thanks to the point they picked, in a goalless draw, against Zambia.
A pattern has also emerged, in the two tournaments where the Warriors have played, under Loga, with none of their out-and-out strikers, managing to score a goal for them, in their seven games, over 420 minutes.
Dynamos captain, Jaure, a defender, was the only one to score for them at the CHAN finals, in Cameroon, while midfielders, Blessing Sarupinda, Ben Musaka and Qadr Amini, were on target, in the four games, at the COSAFA Cup.
However, analysing the Warriors performance, in isolation, doesn’t give us a true picture of how the country’s national football teams have lost their way, in the past 18 months.
Bringing in the other national teams, from the Young Warriors to the Mighty Warriors, provides us with a picture which shows a national game, which is now on its deathbed, clinging on to life support, in the intensive care unit.
From the embarrassment of being expelled, from the COSAFA Under-17 Championship, last year, for age-cheating, to the Young Mighty Warriors suffering a 10-goal humiliation, at the hands of Tanzania, it has been a stumble, from one crisis, to the other.
And, the statistics provide a grim picture of a national game, which has lost its soul, in the past one-and-half years, with the poor results on the pitch, a reflection of the state of the sport.
Within just a few days, at the COSAFA Under-17 Women Championships, last year, the Young Mighty Warriors conceded 17 goals, in games, being thrashed 0-7 by South Africa, and 1-10 by Tanzania.
Their only win came in the 3-2 victory against the Comoros, the Indian Ocean islanders who conceded 20 goals, in their four group games, at an average of five goals, every game.
Cumulatively, the Warriors, Young Warriors, Mighty Warriors and Young Mighty Warriors have played 16 games, at tournaments, in the past 18 months, won just two, drew three and lost 11 games, scoring 17 goals and conceding 42 goals.
The combined NINE points, out of a possible 48 points, represents an 18.75 percent failure rate, by the country’s national football teams, at tournaments, in the past 18 months.
Together, the four teams, in 16 games, have managed just two wins, which came when the Young Mighty Warriors beat lightweights, the Comoros, and the Young Warriors’ 4-1 win over a Lesotho side, which had crashed to a 0-7 thrashing, at the hands of South Africa, in the previous game.
Combined, the country’s national teams have suffered 11 defeats, at tournaments, in the past 18 months, conceding an average 2.62 goals, per game.
On average, the four teams, have been recording just one win, in eight games, in tournaments, in the past 18 months, which is a very poor record.