Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
MARSHAL MUNETSI has said he will not be bogged down by the club versus country dilemma in travelling to represent the Warriors at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in December.
The continental football showcase will take place during a period when the English Premier League will be in full throttle.
Zimbabwe will be part of the biannual competition set for December-January.
After failing to mount a strong challenge for a place at the 2026 World Cup, Warriors coach Michel Nees and his men have been using the remainder of the qualifiers to basically prepare for the AFCON jamboree.
It is, however, the AFCON calendar which normally unsettles African stars based in big European leagues as they will be divided between club business and international duty.
Asked whether that was something that concerned him much after Wolves midfielder Munetsi reaffirmed his commitment to the Warriors cause.
“I was born in Zimbabwe and I am always ready to represent Zimbabwe whenever called to do so, anytime.
“There is no question about that. I am Zimbabwean and that’s as simple as that.”
Munetsi, whose club are yet to win a match in the EPL expressed confidence that the team will start winning and they will be in a good space by the time Wolves players leave for the AFCON.
After a disappointing show in the World Cup qualifying stage in which they failed to win a single game in 10 matches and finished bottom of Group C with five points Nees has remained adamant the Warriors will finally break their Nations Cup jinx.
Zimbabwe have never gone beyond the group stage at previous AFCON appearances.
Yet Nees is under increasing pressure after winning only two games since his appointment in September last year.
Fans and local football legends are already doubting his capacity to revolutionise the Warriors especially after his move to stick to the old horses like Knowledge Musona, who analysts say are not adding any value to the team.
The other sticky point is Nees’ arrogance in ignoring calls to include leading goal scorers from the local Premiership such as Washington Navaya and Tymon Machope despite the Warriors’ goal drought.
He has also come under fire for the way he tries to respond to criticism, no matter how constructive, often under-mining the influence of the local players in the team while forgetting that some of his best players who include Khama Billiat and Emmanuel Jalai play in the domestic league. While pleading for unity ahead of the AFCON, Nees is confident that Zimbabwe will rise to the occasion in the group phase where they will face Egypt, South Africa and Angola.
“We want to go to the second round at the AFCON. That’s for sure. I don’t think any, do you find any team which just wants to go there to play three games and go home? Every team wants to go to the next stage.
“And we are in the same situation as any other team, we want to go to the second round. And if we start, how can you say, dividing ourselves, too much, we must work together, we must stick together and believe in the players, this is what we have, we can try in November maybe the one or other player, but this is it, these are our players,” Nees said.
Despite the poor results and a blunt attack, Nees has so far been impressed by the Warriors goalkeepers. Before Nees came on board the likes of Donovan Bernard and Geoffrey Chitsumba took turns to let down the na-tion between the sticks.
Nees decided to do away with them, recalling Washington Arubi and that has since worked wonders for the team.
“For whatever reason, I don’t know the goalkeepers before my time didn’t perform well.
“Not because of the talent, because they’re the same people, partly, but they didn’t perform.
“That we can really be much, much more comfortable than one year ago, before I came’’.
