‘Solid support system carried Warriors through’

Tadious Manyepo, Zimpapers Sports Hub

WARRIORS coach Michael Nees has paid tribute to Zifa for supporting his vision after sealing a place in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals to be held in Morocco next year.

Zimbabwe secured their place with a game to spare after restricting Kenya to a 1-1 draw in South Africa on Friday last week.
They were closer to completing the campaign without tasting defeat but Burundian referee Pacifique Ndabihawenimana decided to rule out what could have been an equalising goal in their final group match defeat to Cameroon in Yaounde on Tuesday.

It is how the Warriors qualified though that has left stakeholders with renewed confidence Zimbabwe will climb the ladder yet again.

For a country that didn’t participate in the 2023 Afcon qualifiers due to a Fifa ban that lasted for close to two years to bounce back in such a manner and clip a ticket to the continental showcase with a match to spare is kind of stuff that is worth some special place in the memory books.

That the Warriors qualified ahead of Namibia who played well in the Afcon finals early this year and Kenya who have a sound record against them speaks volumes of the sheer quality and determination in their ranks.

And Nees, the second foreign coach after Croat Zdravko Logarusic to guide Zimbabwe to the Afcon finals, says Zifa should get most of the credit.

“I would like to thank the association (Zifa) especially the chief executive officer Yvonne Manwa for running around and seeing to it that we always had everything we needed at hand,” said Nees.

“The backroom staff and everyone at Zifa really deserve some credit. They have pulled in the same direction and the result has been good.”

He praised his charges’ character especially after they threatened to peg back Cameroon in a match that eventually ended in a 2-1 loss for Zimbabwe.

“I think we showed that we can also play football under pressure. We were passing the ball nicely and recycling the ball well.
“The small differences counted at the end in the match against Cameroon,” added Nees.

“You saw the character of our team, I am proud of the players and the team behind them. Everybody pulls in one direction.”
Zimbabwe won two matches, drew three and lost one in a congested qualification schedule that started in September and concluded on Tuesday.

But perhaps the best move made by the Warriors, in the absence of an approved stadium to host international matches in the country, was to stage home games in neighbouring South Africa where a lot of Zimbabweans are living.

“The fans in South Africa were amazing both in Johannesburg and Polokwane. The players could feel the vibe and they had the urge to work even harder,” said Nees.

In South Africa, Zifa also managed to forge solid ties with Zimbabwean companies based in that country like Zororo-Phumulani who were the logistical partners for what proved to be the decisive three games of the campaign, twice against Namibia and then Kenya.

The funeral services company also brought Zimbabwean legends like former captain Peter Ndlovu, Edelbert Dinha, Innocent Chikoya and Alexander Maseko to pep-talk the Warriors in each of those games.

And when the Warriors needed a draw against Kenya last Friday, an international group of schools, Taalnet, which is run by a Zimbabwean Justine Magidi provided 11 buses that carried supporters from Johannesburg to Polokwane.
Magidi also paid accommodation for all those fans who added to the ambience at the Peter Mokaba Stadium.

“We really appreciate the support given to us by thousands of Zimbabweans in South Africa,” said utility player Jordan Zemura.

“It’s really amazing to play in front of singing fans who would be waving your flag. We like that show of patriotism and we are really grateful to those who did the work in the background and the fans who physically showed up in all our games in South Africa and elsewhere.”

Zemura said it was disappointing to lose to Cameroon in their last group game but hailed the team’s chemistry.

“It’s unfortunate we lost when we wanted to finish the campaign without a defeat. But that’s the nature of the game,” added Zemura.

“But I think our chemistry as a team and everyone involved has been the difference for us. We would like to continue on that path and I am sure we will achieve a lot as a team.”WARRIORS coach Michael Nees has paid tribute to Zifa for supporting his vision after sealing a place in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals to be held in Morocco next year.

Zimbabwe secured their place with a game to spare after restricting Kenya to a 1-1 draw in South Africa on Friday last week.
They were closer to completing the campaign without tasting defeat but Burundian referee Pacifique Ndabihawenimana decided to rule out what could have been an equalising goal in their final group match defeat to Cameroon in Yaounde on Tuesday.

It is how the Warriors qualified though that has left stakeholders with renewed confidence Zimbabwe will climb the ladder yet again.

For a country that didn’t participate in the 2023 Afcon qualifiers due to a Fifa ban that lasted for close to two years to bounce back in such a manner and clip a ticket to the continental showcase with a match to spare is kind of stuff that is worth some special place in the memory books.

That the Warriors qualified ahead of Namibia who played well in the Afcon finals early this year and Kenya who have a sound record against them speaks volumes of the sheer quality and determination in their ranks.

And Nees, the second foreign coach after Croat Zdravko Logarusic to guide Zimbabwe to the Afcon finals, says Zifa should get most of the credit.

“I would like to thank the association (Zifa) especially the chief executive officer Yvonne Manwa for running around and seeing to it that we always had everything we needed at hand,” said Nees.

“The backroom staff and everyone at Zifa really deserve some credit. They have pulled in the same direction and the result has been good.”

He praised his charges’ character especially after they threatened to peg back Cameroon in a match that eventually ended in a 2-1 loss for Zimbabwe.

“I think we showed that we can also play football under pressure. We were passing the ball nicely and recycling the ball well.
“The small differences counted at the end in the match against Cameroon,” added Nees.

“You saw the character of our team, I am proud of the players and the team behind them. Everybody pulls in one direction.”

Zimbabwe won two matches, drew three and lost one in a congested qualification schedule that started in September and concluded on Tuesday.

But perhaps the best move made by the Warriors, in the absence of an approved stadium to host international matches in the country, was to stage home games in neighbouring South Africa where a lot of Zimbabweans are living.

“The fans in South Africa were amazing both in Johannesburg and Polokwane. The players could feel the vibe and they had the urge to work even harder,” said Nees.

In South Africa, Zifa also managed to forge solid ties with Zimbabwean companies based in that country like Zororo-Phumulani who were the logistical partners for what proved to be the decisive three games of the campaign, twice against Namibia and then Kenya.

The funeral services company also brought Zimbabwean legends like former captain Peter Ndlovu, Edelbert Dinha, Innocent Chikoya and Alexander Maseko to pep-talk the Warriors in each of those games.

And when the Warriors needed a draw against Kenya last Friday, an international group of schools, Taalnet, which is run by a Zimbabwean Justine Magidi provided 11 buses that carried supporters from Johannesburg to Polokwane.

Magidi also paid accommodation for all those fans who added to the ambience at the Peter Mokaba Stadium.

“We really appreciate the support given to us by thousands of Zimbabweans in South Africa,” said utility player Jordan Zemura.

“It’s really amazing to play in front of singing fans who would be waving your flag. We like that show of patriotism and we are really grateful to those who did the work in the background and the fans who physically showed up in all our games in South Africa and elsewhere.”

Zemura said it was disappointing to lose to Cameroon in their last group game but hailed the team’s chemistry.

“It’s unfortunate we lost when we wanted to finish the campaign without a defeat. But that’s the nature of the game,” added Zemura.

“But I think our chemistry as a team and everyone involved has been the difference for us. We would like to continue on that path and I am sure we will achieve a lot as a team.”