KNOWLEDGE Musona answered his critics in the best manner possible last night with an influential role as he guided his Warriors to an historic AFCON qualifying victory over Zambia at the Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.
The 29-year-old forward has been the subject of some vicious attacks by those who have been suggesting he is now past his prime and should be pushed into an early retirement from international football by being dropped from the Warriors.
That army of critics argue Musona doesn’t deserve his place in the team because, by not playing for his Belgian club Anderlecht, the coaches can’t justify why they are calling him for national duty without any statistics or form to back their decision.
The Smiling Assassin’s case was not helped by an indifferent show at the 2019 Nations Cup finals, where — playing without the benefit of being fully fit — he didn’t produce the high standards which the fans have come to expect of him whenever he plays for his country.
A glaring miss in the group match against Uganda when he somehow sent his effort to kiss the crossbar with a yawing net in front of him didn’t help matters either, with some suggesting he was now past his prime.
That he had scored five goals, only the third player on the continent to score more than four goals during the qualifiers for a place in Egypt, didn’t appear to matter to his critics.
And, when he again failed to produce the fireworks which have come to be associated with him whenever he led his Warriors during the lifeless goalless draw against Botswana in the opening 2019 AFCON qualifier last Friday, they were starting to write the epitaph on his tombstone.
On the eve of last night’s match, caretaker coach Joey Antipas had to field questions again, from the Zambian media, why he was investing his trust in Musona when the player wasn’t playing regular top-flight football in Belgium.
“He could not be playing regularly for the first team at RSC Anderlecht, but he is training regularly and is playing games regularly for the reserve side,’’ said Antipas.State media
