Young Warriors set-up date with Mali after crushing Mauritius

Zimbabwe’s Young Warriors booked their place in the next round of the Olympic qualifiers after completing a commanding 6-1 aggregate victory over Mauritius to set up a date with Mali.

The Young Warriors followed up their 2-0 first-leg victory with an emphatic 4-1 win in the return leg on Tuesday, producing a dominant display to comfortably see off Mauritius and keep their Olympic qualification hopes alive.

The victory was even more impressive given that Zimbabwe travelled without four players who featured in the first leg, including captain Corbin Mthunzi, Prince Ndlovu, Junior Meya, and Kennedy Mupomba.

Despite the absentees, the Young Warriors showed tremendous character and depth, delivering a performance that demonstrated they were not prepared to simply protect their first-leg advantage.

Coach Marc Sanchez had spoken in one of his interviews about the importance of protecting the lead going into the return leg, and his message appeared to be fully understood by his players.

Rather than sitting back on their 2-0 advantage, Zimbabwe went on the offensive and actually scored more goals away from home than they had managed in the first leg, finding the net four times to complete a 6-1 aggregate triumph.

ELISHA PFUPA SHINES AS YOUNG WARRIORS MARCH ON IN OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS

Young Warriors celebrating one of Elisha Pfupa’s goals against Mauritius. Picture by ZIFA

Portsmouth forward Elisha Pfupa was the star of the night, announcing himself in style with a first-half hat-trick.

Pfupa opened the scoring in the 14th minute before doubling Zimbabwe’s advantage just four minutes later. He completed his hat-trick in the 40th minute, putting the Young Warriors 3-0 ahead.

David Chigwada then added a fourth on the stroke of half-time to cap a sensational first-half display.

Mauritius pulled one back after the break, but the damage had already been done as Zimbabwe comfortably saw out the match and progressed to the next round.

For the young Pfupa, the night was also a chance to etch his name into Zimbabwean Olympic football history.

His hat-trick draws a remarkable parallel with another former Portsmouth forward, Benjani Mwaruwari, who also scored three goals for Zimbabwe during the Sydney Olympic qualifiers against Angola.

Pfupa will now hope his breakthrough performance can become the beginning of his own memorable journey in the national colours.

The Young Warriors now face a tougher challenge in the next round, with Mali awaiting as Zimbabwe continue their push for Olympic qualification.

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