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MARSHALL Munetsi will hope to celebrate his century of games for Stade Reims in style when he leads his Warriors against Morocco in a 2024 AFCON qualifier in Casablanca this evening.
It will be Zimbabwe’s biggest competitive match, in terms of the profile of the opponents, in the Warriors adventure in the trenches of international football.
While the Warriors hosted five-time World Champions Brazil in Harare in 2010, it was an exhibition match meant to help the Samba Boys prepare for the global showcase in South Africa.
Today’s showdown against the Atlas Lions is a competitive one and will be the Moroccans first battle since they held the globe spellbound with a magical run at the World Cup last year.
The adventure took them into the virgin territory of the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Their fairytale ended when they were beaten by France but not before going where no other African nation has dared to venture, when it comes to the globe’s biggest football show.
A number of heroes, notably Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech emerged for the Moroccans, who now want to become only the second African country to host the tournament, when it comes around in 2030.
For Munetsi, who replaced the retired Knowledge Musona as Warriors skipper, this will be his first assignment as the Field Marshal in charge of his country’s flagship sports team.
“It’s an honour to be asked to fill into the big shoes which Knowledge left behind and l consider myself lucky to be given the role which in the past has belonged to some of our greatest players,” he told H-Metro.
“The challenge is to try and provide the leadership that the lads require and which our great fans demand from those wearing their national shirt.
“It’s a tough one for us because Morocco have been amazing and their record at the World Cup says it all but we know that in football anything can happen.
“We have created a nice profile for ourselves as a team which usually punches above its weight and if we held Senegal at bay, until they scored a last-minute penalty, we should believe we can match Morocco.”
It will also be the first match for Kaitano Tembo, since he assumed the post of head of the Warriors.
l This is an imaginary match preview, written by our Editor Robson Sharuko, in which he was imagining a world, in which the Warriors were still playing international matches, and he was covering their tour to Morocco. Of course, CAF cancelled the match, which would have been played today.
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