Africa-Press – Rwanda. Next week will be Matchday 3 and 4 in the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers. For us that means a double header versus Rwanda in a space of four days.
Those are games that need no introduction and Fufa’s marketing department sent out a cheeky advert last week alluding to this.
The truth is that rivalries such as these need no hype men. And this one is a powder keg waiting to be lit by the fuel of a history rich in controversy as it is in petty vindictiveness.
But going by Matchday 1 away to Kenya and Matchday 2 at home to group favorites Mali, we are in a fragile state of mind. Kenya and Mail are not the most enterprising opponents we ever face and yet we still played like we were there to avoid humiliation and that if we didn’t concede along the way that would be a bonus. It felt like trying to win those two games was never on the agenda.
The players, and perhaps even the technical bench, all appeared immobilised by the burden of starting all over again after the retirement of core players and the end to four years of a certain assuredness.
The thing though is that we have lost and built teams before, and every cycle eventually gives way to another. So, we should have contained this. But we just didn’t demonstrate a good mental state and maybe that is to be expected of a largely inexperienced core or the arrival of a new coach and backroom staff.
And all this I say without referring to the fitness issues brought about by the playing-time interruptions induced by the pandemic or the fact that many of our senior professionals have been cut adrift by their respective clubs for various reasons ranging from poor form or if you believe the victims, sheer malice.
But, in a way I suspect we are paying for our poor management of transition. A new administration came into a place devoid of a steady supply from underage teams, or a detailed onboarding strategy for the senior team.
So, they conveniently relied on old networks and alliances and an age-old flavor-of-the-month selection policy. That way retirements and lockdowns forced us into patching up our team with talented but inexperienced youngsters and trustworthy but semi-retired professionals. We generally made a meal out of what should have been routine qualification games.
That is in the past though. What lies before us are two games against Rwanda. And regardless of whatever clout we want to lend them, they are just two games worth six points.
Nothing more. We can’t make them about unresolved issues or about avenging for past misdeeds, real or perceived. That would be to lose focus.
To maintain laser focus we need to call upon the kind of mental strength and after the failings of our first two games, this is a wonderful opportunity to put that right.
Our campaign is far from unhinged. Nothing is won or lost yet and the lessons from Matchdays 1 and 2 must be heeded. The weaknesses of our inexperienced or tired outfit are understandable but the reality is that ultimately a football game is won physically as much as it is mentally.
And with four more games to play overall, we will need all our wits to stand a chance. But more importantly, we will not be delivered by being timid or wallowing in self-pity. Our success or lack of depends on how calm and focused we remain over the entire campaign.
