Online Reporter
Blessing Malinganiza-Zimpapers Sports Hub
WARRIORS interim head coach Kaitano Tembo offered a blunt assessment of his side’s performance at the 2026 Unity Cup, admitting his side lacked a cutting edge despite clinching third place with a 1-0 win over India on Saturday.
While the bronze medal at the four-nation tournament in London provided a morale boost, Tembo said the result masked persistent problems in the final third, problems he insists must be fixed before the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
“We could have done better, especially in terms of how we kept the ball in dangerous areas. We made a lot of technical mistakes,” said Tembo.
“With a little bit of quality in those areas, we could have scored more goals because we made a lot of inroads behind their defence. But we didn’t really have that cutting edge.”
The Warriors fell 2-0 to Nigeria in the semi-finals, a match in which Tembo felt his side were a little bit sluggish and second on the ball. He noted that Nigeria created few chances but took them, a lesson in efficiency that Zimbabwe failed to learn.
“Against Nigeria we had chances that if we had taken them, maybe the result could have been different,” said Tembo.
“That was the difference.”
The coach was more encouraged by his team’s defensive organisation, particularly in the win over India.
“Defensively we were better. We were a little bit more compact. We managed to deal with the threat,” he said.
“Today there was one header from the opponent in the 10th minute that could have gone in, and all of a sudden the game changes. But we had more chances, more opportunities to put the game away earlier, and we didn’t do that. We need to work on that.”
However, Tembo played down the importance of results at the London friendly tournament, stressing that the primary objective was squad building.
Zimbabwe deliberately rested several first-choice players to test fringe and uncapped talent.
“Winning a game is always good for morale, but we shouldn’t think too much about the results,” he said.
“The most important thing for us was to come here and prepare and give opportunities to some of our players, and create a bigger pool in terms of profiling our players.
“We thought the qualifiers might not have enough time for us to bring in new players, so this was the perfect platform.”
The coach also dismissed any notion of short-term pressure to win at all costs.
“In football there is always pressure to win games, but for me, from my background, it’s always about laying the foundation. Preparation is very key,” he said.
“We could have brought in some of our strongest players, and maybe against Nigeria it could have been a very different situation. But what’s important is to see the other players and prepare them for the real competition.”
Tembo believes the Unity Cup provided a useful test ahead of qualifiers against Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“There are no smaller teams in Africa anymore. We need to be ready and play under different conditions,” he said.
Prince Dube’s first-half penalty sealed the victory over India, and the coach said that kind of result builds belief.
“It’s always a good feeling when a match gives a good feeling in terms of building confidence in an individual. That’s what it has done to me as well as to the rest of the players and the group,” he said.
