Zimbabwe captain Willard Katsande has urged his teammates to stand firm against tournament favourites Senegal in an Africa Cup of Nations showdown in Gabon on Thursday.
The Zimbabweans face the highest African nation on the Fifa world rankings at the Stade de Franceville in a Group B clash.
They had done their homework on their more fancied opponents, Katsande said.
"It is going to be difficult because they won [their opening match of the tournament] and they have confidence ‚" the Kaizer Chiefs midfield strongman said.
"But we are going to prepare for them accordingly. Come Thursday, we will be ready to rumble again.
"We are going to work on our game plan based on the team‚ their strengths and weakness."
Senegal, ranked 33rd on the Fifa list, will go into the encounter with their tails up after beating Tunisia 2-0 in their opening match.
The star-studded Senegalese have the added incentive of knowing that a victory over Zimbabwe would be enough to enable them to become the first qualifiers for the quarterfinals.
Zimbabwe have to pick themselves up after coming within eight minutes of beating Algeria 2-1, before eventually settling for a 2-2 draw in their opening game.
Katsande said they had put the result behind them. "Obviously, we were disappointed but at the same time, we worked so hard in that game. We told ourselves to take that one point will help going forward, [because] no one gave us a chance ."
News that Zimbabwe’s main striker, Knowledge Musona, is most likely to miss the match will make many of their fans nervous‚ given what the pacy forward brings to the table.
The Belgium-based Musona went off with a hamstring injury against Algeria and some reports claim that he will not recover in time to face Senegal.
Katsande said he hoped the former Chiefs striker would line up against the Senegalese.
"The medical team are busy with him. We need him in our next encounter ," he said.
The Chiefs midfielder insisted southern Africa’s sole representatives in Gabon still believed not only would they emerge from their group, but they would go as far as the semifinals of the biennial event.
The Zimbabweans had enough talent in their ranks to step up a gear on Thursday and go toe-to-toe with the Senegalese, he added.
"That is our main objective… to go beyond the group stages and then we take it from there.
"Don’t forget that we have quality which can upset any opposition," he said.
"We need to get to the semifinals and take it from there," Katsande said.