In exactly 36 days time, the Warriors will step on Moroccan soil for for the Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals.
The 35th edition of AFCON will be held between December 21 2025 and January 18, 2026 and Zimbabwe, for the sixth time in the country’s history, will be rubbing shoulders with Africa’s finest at the continental showpiece.
For the first time in the history of the Warriors’ participation at AFCON, the team will have a foreign coach.
Romanian expatriate Marian ‘Mario’ Marinica has been tasked with leading the team at the biannual showpiece, after the dismissal of German gaffer Michael Nees.
Marinica is no stranger to the AFCON finals, having guided Malawi to the knockout stages at the 2021 edition in Cameroon.
Interestingly, Marinica even guided Malawi to a 2-1 victory over Zimbabwe, who were then under the guidance of celebrated former Warriors captain Norman Mapeza.
In preparation for the tournament, the Nqobile Magwizi-led Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) administration has arranged friendly matches during the current international break.
The Warriors took on the Desert Foxes of Algeria in Saudi Arabia on Thursday and despite a shaky start to the game which saw them concede three goals in the first half, Marinica’s troops produced a much better performance in the second half against the 4th best team in Africa, eventually losing 3-1.
The Warriors were also without key players, including vice captain Marshall Munetsi and the influential pair of Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat.
Midfield workhorse Andy Rinomhota and Italy-based utility player Jordan Zemura, were also missing in action during the Algeria friendly.
Another key takeaway from the Algeria game is that despite the defeat, the Warriors were on the scoresheet, something that hadn’t happened in the last four matches.
On Monday, the Warriors take on Qatar in another international friendly, as they sharpen spears ahead of the AFCON finals.
Friendly matches against opponents of that nature, which were rare in the Warriors fold, are of great significance, in preparation for the AFCON finals.
Marinica will have the chance to cast his nets wider and try new combinations against Qatar – the 53rd ranked team in the world.
With AFCON on the horizon, Warriors fans can be understood for dreaming that qualification for the knockout stages of AFCON can be archived, by a man managed to do so only three years ago with Malawi.
