Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo in FRANCISTOWN, Botswana
WARRIORS coach Mario Marinica said there is a hunger to succeed among his players ahead of their Mukuru 4Nations final against Zambia at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium this evening.
The match kicks off at 6pm.
Zimbabwe have a chance to lay their hands on a trophy for the first time since 2018 when they won the COSAFA Cup, under Sunday “Mhofu” Chidzambwa.
Mario appears to have installed just the right software into his players and there is an air of optimism ahead of their Mukuru Zambezi derby against Chipolopolo.
Although there was a disciplinary issue involving defender Teenage Hadebe, who has since been suspended from taking part in the final, the camp generally remained focused with players in jovial mood during their final training session late yesterday.
Hadebe’s suspension follows hard on the heels of Munashe Garananga’s injury that might as well rule him out of this final.
But newboy Corbin Mthunzi has since joined camp after missing the semi-final win over Botswana on Saturday as his passport was still being sorted out.
Mario has seen the Warriors scoring in every game he has taken charge of since his appointment in November last year to replace the out of depth Michael Nees.
“My philosophy always is to go and play fast and very fast at the same time to play attacking football no matter, whatever the thing is.
“I’m looking as much as possible to score because, basically, if you don’t score you don’t win matches.
“As much as possible, we look to score goals and, at the same time, we look to pick players who enable us to achieve that.
“I watched Zambia in their first half against Malawi in the semi-final. They are a team with a good structure; they have width and they are very difficult to play against, so to speak.
“We have talked about it with the players and I think we should be able to win.
“But we are expecting a tough challenge from the Zambians. They have the energy and the tactical prowess.”
Zimbabwe beat Botswana 3-0 in the semifinals while Zambia overcame Malawi 9-8 on penalties to set the battle of Zambezi up and denying Mario and Flames coach Kallisto Pasuwa the chance to play against the teams they once coached.
“I know there is a historical perspective to the Zambezi derby and it will always feel great to win it,” said Mario.
“We are certainly in it to win it. We know winning this trophy will leave us in a better place especially psychologically as we move to make gains with huge competitions coming up.”
Captain Marvelous Nakamba reassured the nation that Zimbabwe will emerge victorious.
“As players, we have always tried to talk about this upcoming final,” said Nakamba.
“We are a team who is representing millions of our people. No matter the stakes, we have to make our people happy.
“That’s what we are here for. If this tournament didn’t matter, we wouldn’t have been here.
“The mentality in the camp is good and we are here to win this trophy. Of course, we are expecting some tough resistance from Zambia but I believe we have more experience than them.”
