Zimbabwean defender shines in Europa League

ZIMBABWEAN international defender Costa Nhamoinesu put in a man-of-the-match performance in his 19th Uefa Europa League match and said soon after that his mind is on winning his first match in Warriors colours.

The 30-year-old Nhamoinesu was rated 8,1 when his Czech Republic side Sparta Prague beat Krasnodar of Russia 1-0 on Thursday night.

He played 90 minutes at left-back and has a burning desire to transform that club form to the national team when Zimbabwe visit Swaziland for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on March 23, before playing host to Sihlangu four days later.

The former Masvingo United man made his national team debut on September 6 last year as the Warriors drew one-all with Guinea.

"It was a really good performance against Krasnodar yesterday (Thursday), it was a tough game, and they are really a good side.

"Such performances boost my morale; it is good for the club but at the end of the day one also wants to do the same for his country.

"So it would be nice to represent the nation once again," Nhamoinesu told this publication from his base on Friday.

The dreadlocked defender has missed only five of Sparta Prague's matches this season.

The Czech Liga resumed last week after the January break and Nhamoinesu's side are second on the log, three points behind Viktoria Plzen who are on 41 with 13 rounds of action left.

"The struggle continues here. Our league was on a break but we are back to full schedule. But nothing changes, it is more work and more work.

"It is never easy in the Czech Liga; we had to come back from behind in the 2-1 win over Zlin last Saturday. It's like every team engages a top gear when playing us. It is more like what most teams do when playing Dynamos back there in Zimbabwe," said Nhamoinesu.

The mention of DeMbare sees the player going back to talking about the Warriors.

"But after all has been done, representing your nation is crucial and as such I am looking forward to the Warriors game against Swaziland – that is if I get called up," he said.

"It will be nice to meet up with my fellow countrymen once again, doing duty for our nation.

"The back-to-back games against Swaziland are obviously crucial, results from those matches will shape the group.

"Winning those games will boos our morale and confidence before face giants Guinea in their backyard."

Zimbabwe's 1-1 draw with Guinea in their last qualifier, coupled with Swaziland's 2-2 home draw with Malawi that same weekend, left the Warrior's joint top of Group L with Sihlangu on four points.

Guinea and Malawi have a point each.

The Warriors, who opened their Afcon 2017 campaign with an uplifitng 2-1 away win in Malawi before drawing at home, will host the Flames of Malawi on June 3 after the Swaziland assignments.

They will be hoping to have wrapped it up all when they travel to West Africa for their final qualifier against Guinea on September 2.

Guinea played their home match against Swaziland on neutral soil as the West African nation was barred from hosting international matches due to an Ebola outbreak.

They have since been cleared by the Confederation of African Football and will host Malawi in Conakry on March 23, the same day Zimbabwe date Swaziland in Mbabane.