Former Warriors midfielder Lazarus ‘Mali’ Muhoni believes current coach Marian Marinica has the potential to take Zimbabwe to the FIFA World Cup is given the time, resources and support.
Marinica, who replaced German mentor Michael Nees in the Warriors dugout, took charge of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Morocco, where Zimbabwe were eliminated in the first round, at the sixth time of asking.
While many Warriors fans have criticized Marinica, especially because of his team selection particularly in the case of star forward Tawanda Maswanhise not getting ‘enough game time’ at the continental showpiece, Muhoni insists the Romanian-born coach can turn around the Warriors’ fortunes, to the point of potentially qualifying for the World Cup.
“What happened has happened , it’s now water under the bridge. We need to give the coach the time, so that he can experiment. I think he can build a good team,” Muhoni said on this week’s Fanzone episode.
“We have got plenty of young talented youngsters in and outside the country, so it’s a question of blending those players.
“We need to blend that young generation of players and give them time to blend.
“If for example, we give them three or four years to blend, and keep on developing them, in the next four years, I think we can have a team which can qualify for the World Cup,” added Muhoni.
Qualification for the global extravaganza has evaded Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.
