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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter 

RAHMAN Gumbo will be in charge of the Warriors’ remaining Cosafa Cup games after head coach Sunday Chidzambwa was granted compassionate leave following the death of his father at the weekend. 

Gumbo will be barking instructions when the Warriors clash with their regional and tournament rivals Zambia in the semi-finals set for Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban, South Africa, tomorrow as the Warriors march towards a seventh Cosafa Cup title and third on the trot. 

Zifa communications manager Xolisani Gwesela confirmed that Gumbo will be in charge of the remaining games. 

“The team will be under Gumbo for the remainder of the tournament,” said Gwesela from the Warriors’ base in South Africa yesterday. 

Zimbabwe are the most successful nation in the history of the Cosafa Cup, winning their sixth title in 2018. They have played the most matches, managed the most wins and scored the most goals to cement their place on top of the pile. 

The Warriors have also lost three times in the final, two against Zambia, losing 1-0 in 1998 and 2-0 in 2013.

Meanwhile, Kuda Mahachi, who missed the quarter-final win over Comoros on Saturday as he was tying the knot in Bulawayo, has rejoined his teammates in South Africa ahead of the semi-final duel tomorrow. 

Mahachi said they are fully focused on the match and eager to go all the way to the final in defence of the regional title. 

“We are focusing on our game against Zambia; we need to win it and eventually the tournament so that we prepare well for the Total Africa Cup of Nations. We have quality players in our team so we really need to defend our title,” said Mahachi. 

He said they were not going to be distracted by those who claim that the Cosafa tournament is a small competition. 

“To us there is no small cup, we need to win and instill confidence in ourselves ahead of the trip to Egypt, but to do this we also need to keep our feet on the ground and avoid being over confident,” said Mahachi, who turns out for Soweto giants Orlando Pirates. 

Zimbabwe are likely to make some changes to the team that did duty against Comoros in order to give all players game time and fine tune the squad for the Afcon finals as well as the upcoming international friendly against African powerhouse Nigeria on Sunday.