Warriors through to Africa Nations Cup finals

Warriors through to Africa Nations Cup finals

• Mhlauri relishes 'game of my life'

• Murambadoro settles for Palace

• Arubi gets surprise call-up to Warriors squad

• Cosafa Cup heroes to get land

• Zimbabwe lift Cosafa Cup

By Sports Reporter

ZIMBABWE qualified for the African Nations Cup finals on Sunday by beating Rwanda 3-1 in Harare to make sure of a berth at next January's tournament.

Sunday's win ensured that Zimbabwe finished inside the top three places in their World Cup qualifying group, which is also serving as the qualifiers for next year's Nations Cup finals.

Zimbabwe dominated the match against the bottom side in Group Four, scoring early through Shingarai Kawondera before a mix-up in defence saw South African-based defender Zvenyika Makonese net an own goal just after the half hour mark.

Yet AJ Auxerre striker Benjani Mwaruwari restored Zimbabwe's lead just before half-time and substitute Ashley Rambanapasi (formerly Muza), playing in just his fourth international, scored 15 minutes from the end to make sure of the win.

It is the second successive time that Zimbabwe have qualified for the Nations Cup finals and Sunday's win means they also keep up their mathematical chance of making the World Cup finals in Germany.

Before the match, Warriors coach Charles Mhlauri who said the clash was the biggest game of his career. Afterwards, he told journalists qualification for the Nations Cup was always the primary objective for his squad.

“It is always good for the country and the players to qualify for the African Cup of Nations. This was our primary objective and I’m happy we have achieved it," said Mhlauri.

“But there is still a lot to be done about this team so we will continue to broaden our player base as we prepare for the finals. Most players are still lacking match fitness because they are just coming from the off season break. That is why we had lapses in some departments. But the most important thing is that we have won and are through to the finals."

LATEST LOG GROUP FOUR
[The draw also acts as qualifying for the 2006 African Nations Cup. The winner of each group will compete in the 2006 World Cup, while the top three in each group qualify for the 2006 Nations Cup]

TEAM		P	W	D	L	GF	GA	PTS
1	Angola	9	5	3	1	11	6	18
2	Nigeria	9	5	3	1	16	6	18
3	Zimbabwe	9	4	3	2	12	9	15
4	Gabon	9	2	3	4	11	13	9
5	Algeria	9	1	4	4	8	15	7
6	Rwanda	9	1	2	6	6	15	5

Fixtures: 2004

June 5: Nigeria 2-0 Rwanda; Gabon 1-1 Zimbabwe; Algeria 0-0 Angola

June 19: Rwanda 3-1 Gabon
June 20: Zimbabwe 1-1 Algeria; Angola 1-0 Nigeria

July 3: Nigeria 1-0 Algeria; Gabon 2-2 Angola; Rwanda 0-2 Zimbabwe

September 5: Algeria 0-3 Gabon; Zimbabwe 0-3 Nigeria; Angola 1-0 Rwanda

October 9: Gabon 1-1 Nigeria; Rwanda 1-1 Algeria
October 10:Angola 1-0 Zimbabwe

2005

March 26: Nigeria 2-0 Gabon
March 27: Zimbabwe 2-0 Angola; Algeria 1-0 Rwanda

June 5: Zimbabwe 1-0 Gabon; Angola 2-1 Algeria; Rwanda 1-1 Nigeria

June 18: Nigeria 1-1 Angola; Gabon 3-0 Rwanda
June 19: Algeria 2-2 Zimbabwe

September 4: Algeria 2-5 Nigeria
September 4: Zimbabwe 3-1 Rwanda; Angola 3-0 Gabon

October 8: Nigeria v Zimbabwe; Gabon v Algeria
October 9: Rwanda v Angola

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