Johannesburg – The Zimbabwe Warriors were knocked out of the African Nations Championships, losing 0-1 to Mali in a crucial group D match played at the Stade Umuganda in Gisenyi, Rwanda on Saturday.
Mali earned their sweet revenge against Zimbabwe who knocked them out from the 2014 African Nations Championship in the quarterfinal stage.
Zimbabwe’s Head Coach Callisto Pasuwa rued the missed chances. “They (Mali) had a free-kick and they scored. We need as much to convert our chances in this kind of tournament.
“We managed to close down Mali but failed to take our chances. It has been a learning curve for us. Most of the players are under 23 years, and we need to keep motivating them. The boys are learning and they know what it means to play in the senior team.
“Uganda have a very good team and playing good in recent time. We have to tell the boys to go out there and play for national pride.”
Zimbabawe’s captain Hardlife Zvirekwi was just as philosophical. “We have to give credit to the players. They did their best. Loss of concentration affected us; it was same during the first match and it happened again.
“We have learnt our mistakes. We need to encourage the players to push on and play for national pride in the last match (against Uganda).
Mali’s head coach Djibril Drame said: “We drew the first match, so it is very important to win the second match. This is the first time Mali has beaten Zimbabwe and it is good for us.
“It was a difficult match. Football evolves, and if today, we did not play well, it is up to the technicians to work on that with the next game in mind.” – African News Agency (ANA)