Warriors striker Tino Kadewere does not believe Zimbabwe qualifying for the FIFA World Cup is an impossible dream and insists that day will come.

Since independence in 1980, the Warriors have not made it to the global football extravaganza, with Reinhard Fabisch’s ‘Dream Team’ coming closest-within 90 minutes of securing a ticket to USA 1994, but the Olympique Lyon man believes that jinx will be broken.

“It’s a huge honour to be able to play for your country and I’ll never tire of seeing my name on the squad lists,” Tino said. “Of course, every national team goes through ups and downs, but I’m convinced that the day will come when we will make the whole country smile,” told FIFA.com. 

“We all know that the road leading to the World Cup is long and winding, but that’s the goal that we’ve set ourselves. Obviously, we’re going to need to work hard to achieve it but we’ve got some solid foundations to build on. We’ve got real talent in the team and we’re a well-oiled unit that’s been playing together for few years now. That’s a definite asset for us.”

“The main objective is the World Cup, though,” said Kadewere, before giving a reminder that in his case football is very much a family business: “That’s my biggest wish. That and for my family to be proud of me,” he added.

Zimbabwe scrapped past Somalia in dramatic fashion last year in the World Cup 2022 preliminarily round and will battle with Ghana, South Africa and Ethiopia in Group G for the ticket to Qatar.