malvernmugadzikwa
Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE national team players are eager to collect maximum points when they face five-time African champions, Cameroon, in a 2025 AFCON Group J qualifying match at the Mandela Stadium in Uganda tomorrow.
Led by stand-in skipper Marshall Munetsi, the Warriors opened their campaign with a goalless draw against Kenya at the same venue last Friday.
A strong start against Kenya, a relatively easier opponent than the Indomitable Lions, was crucial, but the Warriors ultimately settled for a point.
Munetsi emphasised the need to build on the performance from the opening Group J match against the Harambee Stars of Kenya, which was more of a balanced affair between the long-time rivals.
The Warriors did not have much time to reflect on what could have been in that match as they had two days to shift focus and prepare for their second Group J match against Cameroon on Tuesday.
Striker Douglas Mapfumo, who was introduced as a second-half substitute against Kenya, said the Warriors have been working on their finishing.
The South Africa-based forward believes Cameroon should not be taken lightly. The Cameroonians come into the match as the favourites.
They sit on top of Group J after beating Namibia 1-0 in their opening match at the weekend.
Another Warriors striker, Prince Dube, is excited to be back into the national team fold after a while.
He has been in sparkling form at his new Tanzanian club, Young Africans.
Dube is hopeful of getting another chance to play and lead the Warriors’ attack in the game against Cameroon.
At the end of the campaign, only the top two teams from the four-nation group will get tickets to the 2025 AFCON finals to be staged in Morocco next year.
The qualifiers will all be played in a crash programme which ends in November.
Namibia is the fourth country in Group J.
Bongani Ndlovu