Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo in MARRAKECH, Morocco
SOUTH Africa have long held the edge in the Limpopo Derby, but Warriors coach Marian “Mario” Marinica has shut out the numbers as Zimbabwe step into a decisive Africa Cup of Nations showdown against their fiercest neighbours this evening.
Kick-off is 6pm at the Grand Stade de Marrakech, with Group B balanced on a knife edge.
For the first time, the old Cosafa rivals meet at this stage of the tournament, and the stakes could not be clearer. One team moves on to the Round of 16. The other likely welcomes the New Year back home.
Zimbabwe arrive with one point from two matches after a narrow 2-1 loss to Egypt and a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Angola. South Africa sit on three points after beating Angola 2-1 before falling to Egypt.
The mathematics is simple. Win, and the Warriors are through. Lose, and the long wait continues.
History has not been kind to Zimbabwe. Since 1992, South Africa have eight wins to the Warriors’ six from 19 competitive meetings, scoring 21 goals to Zimbabwe’s 16. Bafana Bafana also won the most recent encounter, a 3-1 victory in a 2026 World Cup qualifier in Bloemfontein last June. Zimbabwe’s last success came in a friendly in 2013, a 2-1 win.
Marinica insists none of that will matter when the ball starts rolling.
What matters is the chance in front of them, with tension already bubbling among supporters, including on social media. The Warriors have never reached the Round of 16 in five previous Afcon appearances. This is their sixth attempt, and Marinica is eyeing the breakthrough.
The Romanian said: “That’s all the point for everyone you know to be here that’s what we want.
“We are not here to let history define us or determine our fate. We are here to compete as much as we can and see what happens.
“You know sometimes things don’t go according to plan and that’s part of life.
“You know there are good things and bad things and sometimes you do all the right things and it doesn’t work out well for you.
“Sometimes it does work for you and sometimes also a little bit of a stroke of luck, if you have to look we had the fantastic chances to, you know, to kill the game against Egypt, we missed the chances and they scored a goal in the last minute but actually if you have to look Mo Salah was more or less failing and he still you know with the genius he managed to push the ball into the net so that’s part of life, that’s part of football.
“We are pleased with what actually we’ve done, we went there to score goals, we went there to attack the teams and we are there to actually win the matches not to defend not to park the bus to hope for you know a 0-0 or something like that and maybe hitting on the break we took the game to the two teams (Egypt and Angola).
“If you have to look at the match against Angola, we had 17 shots unbelievable compared to what actually has been happening in the past however only four of them hit the target so as a coach you’re a bit frustrated because the tactics work sometimes you know it’s also the responsibility of players to put the ball in the back of the net.
“Having said all this I’m sure that tomorrow (today) we’re gonna put these things right.”
Marinica has kept opponents guessing with his selections throughout the tournament and could again adjust his starting line up, knowing South Africa pose a different challenge to Egypt and Angola.
He hinted at changes, stressing that modern football demands decisions based on more than reputation.
“I know it’s difficult for the public also to understand and for even you know some part of the players and staff to understand because we are looking at data; we are looking you know scientifically we are looking you know, remember at five key corners, that is technically, tactically, mentally, socially and physically.
“We are looking, you know, to see how the team is gelling and who is clicking and how he’s clicking so those things you know, we’re looking to see how we can do that.
“On the other hand you see unfortunately the fact that some of our players they haven’t got the exposure that the opponents have, at the same time they don’t have the matches that the opponents have played regularly at the very top level you know, day in and day out like three matches in a week.
“You have to come with freshness so based on that we had to look, you know to cover some areas tactically but also at the same time to get something fresh to get some players you know fired up to be ready for those things.”
Zimbabwe are also leaning on their deep understanding of the South African game, shaped by players who have built careers across the Limpopo. Knowledge Musona stands out. He has scored three times against Bafana Bafana and could become the outright leading scorer in this rivalry, moving clear of Peter Ndlovu and Shaun Bartlett if he finds the net tonight.
Marinica expects a fierce contest but believes the opportunity is real.
He added, “You know they (South Africa) want to win, we want to win, they want a revenge (a goalless draw in a 2026 World Cup qualifier last month) we want to show that we can win.
“So these are the challenges at the end of the day, we go there you know to prepare as best as possible.”
As of last night, the Warriors camp reported a clean bill of health, leaving Marinica spoilt for choice in his biggest match since taking over.
South Africa coach Hugo Broos has spoken with measured confidence, backing his side to prevail, while fully aware that tonight’s derby will demand more than comfort or control.
