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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Warriors are bubbling with confidence ahead of their opening Afcon 2017 match against Algeria at the Stade de Franceville on Sunday and believe they can shock the North Africans.

The national team says it is not intimidated by the wealth of experience within the Desert Foxes side, which boasts 16 European-based players, including 2017 African Footballer of the Year Riyad Mahrez and his English Premiership club Leicester City teammate Islam Slimani.

Speaking after Zimbabwe held Cameroon to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday in Yaoundé, the Warriors’ trio of Netherlands-based midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, Chicken Inn defender Teenage Hadebe and Tanzanian-based utility player Bruce Kangwa said morale in the squad was high and they were looking forward to the tournament.

Nakamba said their opponents can underestimate the Warriors at their own peril.

“I think so far so good; everything is going on well and the guys are training hard to get positive results in Gabon. The overall goal for us is to go all the way to the last day of the tournament and all it takes is self- belief. It might sound like we’re being over ambitious, but with God nothing is impossible and with the way the guys are applying themselves, I believe nothing is impossible,” said Nakamba.

The left-footed midfielder, who is reportedly being monitored by a number of top European clubs, said they had buried the send-off dinner fiasco and just wanted to make the nation proud.

The Netherlands-based midfielder will miss the opening game after accumulating two yellow cards in the qualifiers.

“The ultimate goal is to do well and be at the competition till the last day. What happened, happened and we can’t keep referring to the past. What is important is that we’ve got a united squad that wants to serve the country by doing well at this tournament. The first step will be getting a positive result in our first game,” Nakamba said.

English Premiership side Everton, German sides VfL Wolfsburg and Hamburg, as well as Belgium side Anderlecht are reportedly monitoring Nakamba and are likely to have their scouts watching him in Gabon.

Chicken Inn defender Hadebe is elated to be at Afcon and intends to make the trip a memorable one.

“Being part of the Warriors’ squad is an honour and a dream come true because almost every player dreams to play at a major tournament like the Afcon.

Now that we’re here, what we have to do is fight hard and get positive results. The good thing is that everyone is on the same page and understands the work at hand. The guys have been working hard at training and everyone is looking forward to the first game, which is very important for us,” said Hadebe.

He is part of the Warriors’ eight defenders and will be fighting for a starting place either at central defence against Costa Nhamoinesu, Lawrence Mhlanga and Elisha Muroiwa or at left-back against Onismor Bhasera and Kangwa.

Tanzanian-based Kangwa, who can also compete for a place in midfield, said: “We have healthy competition in our squad and that pushes everyone to work harder as one can’t afford to relax. Besides the honour of representing the country, the guys want to do well at this tournament for themselves and make their own piece of history. The last Warriors teams at the Afcon in 2004 and 2006 failed to go beyond the group stages and we want to fight hard to proceed to the next stage.”
Afcon Group Fixtures

Saturday, January 14: Gabon v Guinea-Bissau (Stade d’Angondje, 6PM), Burkina Faso v Cameroon (Stade d’Angondje, 9PM)

Sunday, January 15: Algeria v Zimbabwe (Stade de Franceville, 6PM), Tunisia v Senegal (Stade de Franceville, 9PM)

Monday, January 16: Cote d’Ivoire v Togo (Stade d’Oyem, 6PM), DR Congo v Morocco (Stade de Franceville, 9PM)

Tuesday, January 17: Ghana v Uganda (Stade de Port Gentil, 6PM), Mali v Egypt (Stade de Port Gentil, 9PM)

Wednesday, January 18: Gabon v Burkina Faso (Stade d’Angondje, 6PM), Cameroon v Guinea-Bissau (Stade d’Angondje, 9PM)

Thursday, January 19: Algeria v Tunisia (Stade de Franceville, 6PM), Senegal v Zimbabwe (Stade de Franceville, 9PM)

Friday, January 20: Cote d’Ivoire v DR Congo (Stade d’Oyem, 6PM), Morocco v Togo (Stade d’Oyem, 9PM)

Saturday, January 21: Ghana v Mali (Stade de Port Gentil, 6PM), Egypt v Uganda (Stade de Port Gentil, 9PM)

Sunday, January 22: Guinea-Bissau v Burkina Faso (Stade de Franceville, 9PM), Cameroon v Gabon (Stade d’Angondje, 9PM)

Monday, January 23: Senegal v Algeria (Stade de Franceville, 9PM), Zimbabwe v Tunisia (Stade d’Angondje, 9PM)

Tuesday, January 24: Togo v DR Congo (Stade de Port Gentil, 9PM), Morocco v Cote d’Ivoire (Stade d’Oyem, 9PM)

Wednesday, January 25: Egypt v Ghana (Stade de Port Gentil, 9PM), Uganda v Mali (Stade d’Oyem, 9PM).

– @ZililoR