Warriors faced technically gifted opponents

EDITOR — I have seen people on social media typing all sorts of criticism of the Warriors and their gaffer Callisto Pasuwa because of their Afcon showing.

Truth is, neither the coach nor the players could control the situation.

We were just placed in a very difficult group, our chances of progression were next to none.

What should show critics that the group we were in was not easy, Algeria with all its quality were also eliminated.

Players in the mould of Riyad Mahrez, Islam Slimani and Yasim Brahimi also bowed out, signalling the difficulty associated with the group.

It was always going to be difficult, cursing the boys for crashing out is simply a lack of understanding of the opposition we were up against.

Pasuwa could have tried every social media line-up and every Whatsapp generated combination and we would still have faltered.

The fact that Zimbabwean players are not well gifted with speed also played a part.

We were always the second to get to the ball and in serious competitions like Afcon people get punished for that.

We need to go back to the drawing board and understand that there is nothing like an easy contest.

Chiding the team for losing against Tunisia and Senegal is insensitivity at its best. It was a battle well fought. The Warriors deserve a break from the criticism.

Instead lets focus on player development, infrastructure expansion as well as motivation of players through improved packages.

Our players can do better in future if they remain focused and committed. Lovemore Khumalo, Bindura.