Zimbabwe head coach Marian Marinica has issued a subtle yet stern warning to Bafana Bafana ahead of the highly anticipated 2025 AFCON Group B match.
The Warriors and Bafana Bafana are set to renew their intense rivalry on Monday, December 29, at Stade de Marrakech in Morocco.
Undoubtedly, this promises to be an incredibly tense match as both sides are desperate to collect maximum points and stand a chance of progressing to the prestigious Round of 16.
Bafana, who have three points from their first two matches, are looking exceptionally strong, but Zimbabwe are also eager to cause a major upset, with one crucial point on their tally.
The last time they met, Zimbabwe held Bafana to a 0-0 draw, almost derailing their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification hopes. This time, the stakes are extremely high, and the match promises to be thrill-packed.
Bafana Bafana and The Warriors have both scored two goals in their first two matches. For Bafana, Oswin Appollis and Lyle Foster got the goals, while Prince Dube and Knowledge Musona found the back of the net for Zimbabwe.
WHAT MARIAN MARINICA SAID AHEAD OF ZIMBABWE VS BAFANA TIE
After the gritty 1-1 draw with Angola, coach Marian Marinica wants an outright win against Bafana, believing they will march to the knockout stage.
“Well, obviously, if you like to play, it’s good, because at the end of the day, as I said, in the last few minutes, we had a chance to probably finish the game. We had another chance on target, so it could have been different,” said Marinica.
“But on the other hand, we have to acknowledge that we came from behind against a very, very solid team, and they could have finished the match. But we managed to stay in the game, show our winning spirit, and slowly catch up, scoring in the very last minutes of the first half.
“So, I think we’ve gained a point from that point of view. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if we have two points lost or one point gained — we still have one point, and we need to win the last match against South Africa to have a chance to qualify. There is no negotiating, we must win,” he said.
RELATED STORY: Why Lunga and Musona missed Zimbabwe’s AFCON opener against Egypt