For the first time in the history of Zimbabwean football, two different Warriors teams will play on the same day.
In Morocco, the country’s senior men’s national team will take on Niger in an international friendly as part of head coach Michael Nees’ preparations for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) slated for December. Nees’ charges, despite a spirited second half display, succumbed to a 2-0 loss to impressive Burkina Faso. The loss to the Burkinabe was Nees’ second since taking over in August last year.
The German expatriate has overseen nine matches at the helm of the Warriors, winning two, losing two and drawing five. Nees, while admitting that winning every football game is key, insists football stakeholders should not cast a blind eye on the purpose of the friendlies – development. “Every match you want to win, and it’s very important, but you mustn’t also forget the development aspect. We are trying everything; you could see in the first match the boys fought till the end,” said Nees.
“We analysed the match in every aspect, from ball possession, and there was even a time when our opponents went for 90 seconds without touching the ball. “We try everything to win, of course, but we must not forget the developmental aspect, which is the bigger picture,” he added.
In South Africa, the other Warriors team is in a make-or-break situation. The team, which comprises mostly of players under the age of 23 and is being coached by youthful tactician Simon Marange, needs to collect maximum points to avoid elimination in the Cosafa Cup. Zimbabwe are the record winners of the regional tournament but face the possibility of being knocked out in the first round for the third year in a row after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Bafana Bafana. The Warriors anchor Group A with a point from their first two matches and need to beat neighbours Mozambique to entertain any chance of progressing to the next stage of the competition.
