Tapera bemoans limited preps for Cameroon tie

Young Warriors coach Jairos Tapera has lamented the little time they will have in camp ahead of Sunday’s crucial 2017 Africa Under-20 Nations Cup qualifier second round, first leg match against Cameroon at the National Sports Stadium.

Tapera and his boys began preparations for Sunday’s match on Tuesday and they will have to just go into battle having trained for five days and without a friendly match.

Zimbabwe have never qualified for the Under-20 championships and they are now facing Cameroon who are a powerhouse in continental youth football just like their senior national team.

While the Young Warriors can draw inspiration from their Under-23 seniors who humbled Cameroon to qualify for last year’s African Games, Tapera feels this is a completely different tournament.

“It seems things are repeating themselves. We are experiencing the same predicament as we went through before we played Botswana the last time,” Tapera said.

“This kind of situation saw us going to Botswana under pressure after we had lost the first leg. It is not an ideal situation. We had wanted to train for at least three weeks before this game but, look we now just have about five days. It is a very big disadvantage to us considering the calibre of our opponents.

Of course some people might say Cameroon are easy opponents after our Under-23s beat them last year but this is a totally different assignment. Look, here we are playing a team that is a regular at these championships so we would need some extra preparations if we are to fancy our chances.”

Apart from the shoddy preparations, Tapera’s squad however boast of in-form Prince Dube who has become Highlanders’ chief striker. The Young Warriors will also be banking on Tatenda Makuwe who plays for Orlando Pirates juniors in South Africa while Caps United’s Blessing Nyamuzihwa can also be handy for Zimbabwe.

The Harare City duo of Jerry Chipangura and Tatenda Ruzvidzo also provide competitive football experience in Tapera’s squad.