IF you are a Zimbabwean football fan, this is probably as close to what hell feels like as possible.

What a week it has been, humiliation on all fronts as if football — the world’s most beautiful game — is on an agenda to remind us of its other ugly side which rears its head when you take this game for granted.

Never before in the history of Zimbabwean football has a week been as bad as what the last six days have delivered for this country — embarrassment, indignity, shame, disgrace, ignominy, comeuppance and torture for the game’s long-suffering fans.

First, it was that Mighty Warriors’ no-show at the National Sports Stadium, the first team to fail to fulfil a home international fixture in the history of this game.

Then, it was followed by the Warriors’ shock and embarrassing loss to the weakest nation in the world — Somalia — a homeless team that had never won a World Cup qualifier in their history before and never tasted a win in an international game since the turn of the millennium.

Last night, as if this script is being written by the Devil himself, it fittingly ended in humiliating fashion at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg when the Young Warriors crashed to a 0-5 defeat at the hands of their South African counterparts in the AFCON Under-23 third round, first leg qualifier.

With a ticket to the AFCON Under-23 finals in Egypt at stake, the South Africans brought some of their heavy hitters, led by their Europe-based forwards Luther Singh, who plays for Portuguese side Braga, Lyle Foster, who plays for French side Monaco and Kobamelo Kodisang, who is on the books of Portuguese side Sanjoanense.

And, with the trio well-supported by the highly-rated SuperSport United duo of Teboho Mokoena and Sipho Mbule, from midfield, the Young Warriors were no match and were already down by three goals at the interval.

Foster teed up Kodisang for the first goal after 17 minutes, Singh doubled their lead in the 35th minute and Mokoena added the third just before the break with a powerful shot.
After the break, Singh made it four and Foster completed the rout.

It could, or should have been six, with 10 minutes remaining when Foster was presented with a golden chance for his brace after being picked out by Kamohelo Mahlatsi, but his header went wide.State media