Warriors Under Pressure To Beat Tunisia

Zimbabwe senior men’s football team, the Warriors, will be chasing their first win in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations when they face Tunisia in Group B on Monday.

Coach Kalisto Pasuwa's side are under pressure to register a win as they wrap up their group stage campaign.

The Warriors are on the verge of an early exit and could head back home without a win should they lose the clash against the Carthage Eagles.

In their previous two matches, they drew 2-2 against Algeria and succumbed to a 2-0 loss at the hands of Senegal.

Zimbabwe sit at number four on the group table with one point having conceded four goals and will want to stun the Tunisians.

Although Pasuwa insists they are still in it, he is aware that a loss will spell an unsuccessful end to their quest to reach the knockout stages.

“We lost it during that early period against Senegal, where we were caught cold,” Pasuwa said after their second group match.

“We improved as the game progressed, but it was difficult to recover playing such a team. It is a lesson learnt for us, but the good part is we are still in it, it’s not yet over. 

“We have to fight against Tunisia and we know a win can take us through. The boys were chickening away from receiving the ball in the middle of the park and it’s one area that we need to work on.”

On the other hand, Henryk Kasperczak's men will also want a win to cement their place in the knockout stages.

They managed to bounce back from their 2-0 loss to Senegal and beat the Desert Warriors 2-1 in their second Group B tie.

However, their mission to reach the knockout stages is not over yet as they face a challenging task against Zimbabwe.

Tunisia occupy the second spot on the log with three points and will now want to bag their second win and ensure they join Aliou Cisse's men in the Last 16.

Players such as Youssef Msakni and Naim Sliti are set to pose danger to Zimbabwe whilst Pasuwa will be hoping to see Khama Billiat and Nyasha Mushekwi in fine form.

The match will be staged at Stade de L'Amitie in Gabon at 21:00.

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