The Warriors take the first steps on a long journey to restore a severely battered reputation when they face Liberia in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Monrovia on Sunday.

Zimbabwe’s profile has fallen to record lows in Africa, and now with a Fifa World Ranking of 113 they barely look out of place among the minnows of continental football.

But the hunger for success remains undiminished in this football mad country.

The game against Liberia and subsequent qualifiers in a Group A also consisting of Mali and Cape Verde, present the Warriors with a perfect setting for a determined recovery mission.

Zimbabwe will need to top Group A for automatic qualification to the 2012 Nations Cup finals in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. And after missing out on 2008 and 2010 editions of Africa’s premier football competition, another misadventure could prove too much to bear.

In an apparent attempt to make a clean break with a particularly painful recent past, Zimbabwe caretaker coach Norman Mapeza has dumped most of players who were regulars when Zimbabwe failed to qualify for Angola 2010.

Of the team that starts against Liberia, only left back Onismo Bhasera was a regular when the Warriors failed to secure at least second place in a Group that consisted of Kenya, Namibia and Guinea as Angola 2010 beckoned.

Yet on balance, the new Warriors team is neither young nor inexperienced.

Acting captain Method Mwanjali, aged 27, Kaizer Chiefs’ Thomas Svesve (29), Cyprus based right back Noel Kaseke (29), creative midfielder Clement Matawu (27), Al Hilal forward Edward Sadomba (27), Austria based Justice Majabvi (26) as well as 28-year-old Dynamos midfielder Ashley Rambanepasi have all had flirted with the Warriors at one stage or another.

And that is more than half the starting line-up for the Liberia encounter.

Clearly, this is a group of players at the peak of their careers after gaining invaluable experience down the years.

There is a catch though. Mapeza’s new-look Warriors have not had time enough together to be expected to produce anything like a cohesive display.

The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa)’s failure to organize a friendly match on August 11, the Fifa designated date for international friendlies, means some of the players will be playing in the same team for the first time on Sunday.

And that’s quite some recipe for a disastrous, disjointed performance. Left back Onismo Bhasera however refuses to dwell on the negatives, preferring instead to convince himself that the enthusiasm and determination he has witnessed in camp will see the team through.

“The good thing about having so many new players in the team is that everyone is determined to impress so that they remain part of the group.

“There are so many good players in the team and we are all committed to the cause. I have no doubt that we will bring back all three points from Liberia,” he said before the team left Harare on Friday night.

Victory is imperative if Zimbabwe is to top Group A. But a draw away from home would not in anyway be interpreted as a disaster. The Liberians have a World ranking of 156.

Zimbabwe are expected to employ a twin strike force of Sadomba and rising Kaiser Chiefs striker Knowledge Musona, with the forceful Nyasha Mushekwi on the bench.

The wings also look well endowed with Matawu, Tafadzwa Rusike, Quincy Antipas (if he recovers) and Benjamin Marere all ready for duty. Antipas picked up an ankle injury in training on Thursday and will need to pass a late fitness test.

Majabvi and Rambanepasi look primed for the central midfield roles but it is the central defence partnership of Mwanjali and Sweswe that looks suspect. The two have sat out the first two competitive matches in the South Africa Premiership and could yet fall short on match fitness.

Probable line-up:

W. Arubi, N. Kaseke, O. Bhasera, T. Sweswe, M, Mwanjali, A. Rambanepasi, J. Majabvi, C. Matawu, T. Rusike, K. Musona, E. Sadomba.

By Special correspondent