WARRIORS coach Michael Nees has credited the team's success to the unity within the group, from his bosses at Zifa to the last man in his technical team.
Nees guided Zimbabwe to next year's Africa Cup of Nations finals with a game to spare, following a 1-1 draw against Kenya in Polokwane, South Africa, on Friday.
Scotland-based winger Tawanda Maswanhise gave the Warriors a first-half lead beating Kenya goalkeeper Bryne Odhiambo from the edge of the box before Jonah Ayunga bundled home the equaliser early in the second half following a rare mistake at the back.
That result meant that the team is unbeaten in their five qualifying matches Nees presided over since his appointment three months ago.
Compliments have been showered on the German following the team's latest achievement, but he has refused to take all the plaudits.
"You need all the supporting staff to be working together... the analysts.. if I say one name, it would be very unfair to the others. If everybody doesn't pull in one direction, you have a zero chance of success. It's very simple,” Nees said.
“The staff members work very well with me. I just took over, working with people I have never worked with before. I know what it means, you have to, yourself, open up and you have to give trust and they also have to give trust back. You never know how it will end, but I must compliment all the technical staff, the assistant coaches, goalkeepers coaches, the medical department, the team administration, the media department, we all belong together. This is like one team. It's not just eleven players or the 23 players in the squad and the coach, but everybody from the kit manager... I cannot mention everybody, but they belong together and they really worked very hard and very good."
While his predecessors have complained over interference in team selection from Zifa, Nees revealed that he has been allowed his space to work.
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"I want to also take this opportunity to thank the Zifa administration led by the CEO Yvonne (Manwa) and her whole staff because I was fully supported from the first day I came, no interference, no fishy smell around the team like it should be in football."
Zimbabwe will be making a return to the Africa safari for the first time since 2021 after missing out on the qualifiers for the 2023 event due to a Fifa ban.
The 35th edition of the biennial African football tournament is set to run from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026 in Morocco.
The Warriors managed to qualify for the Afcon finals with their unbeaten record intact and play five-time African champions Cameroon at Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaoundé, tomorrow in the final group game.
The Zimbabwean coach reckons the objective is to beat the Indomitable Lions and help the country’s world ranking while maintaining the team’s unbeaten run in the qualifiers.
“You need to take every game very seriously because it counts on Fifa rankings and the better your Fifa ranking, the better your seeding in the next tournament so it has consequences. We have not lost a game in the last five matches and we want to continue like that," Nees said.
“But I must also look at the players, how they are because I am sure three or four may not have recovered and I must see how we can assemble a squad, which can face Cameroon and also considering that a few other players also deserve a chance. But then if we lose you guys (the media) will complain that the team is not so good so we need to find the balance. We want to get a result but we must be cautious on other things.”
For the Cameroon match Zimbabwe will be missing the services of defender Gerald Takwara, who was stretchered off during the Kenya game after he was injured attempting to clear the low cross which led to the Harambee Stars’ equaliser.
The Warriors technical team has also released vice-captain Marshall Munetsi who was a target of crude tackles as a precautionary measure.
A win for Zimbabwe will see them finish the qualifiers as Group J winners while it will be their first win over Cameroon in that country.
