Marinica: Zimbabwe work ethic wasn’t there

Zimbabwe coach Mario Marinica has explained why he thinks the Warriors went down 3-1 to Algeria in Thursday’s friendly played in Saudi Arabia.

The Zimbabweans have gathered in the Asian country to speed up their preparations for the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco this December.

FT | 🇩🇿 ALG 3 – 1 ZIM 🇿🇼#AFCON2025 #GoWarriors #ALGERIAvsZIMBABWE #BayawaBaya pic.twitter.com/rkbk1ogyzE

— Zimbabwe Football Association (@online_zifa) November 13, 2025

A streak of six consecutive games across all competitions without a win and a change in the coaching personnel has not done the Warriors good, as the clock ticks closer to the continental championship.

Nonetheless, the Zimbabwe Football Association remains confident that all is not lost. The association believes the back-to-back warm up matches, including the next one against Qatar in Saudi Arabia, would give Marinica enough platform to right the wrongs of a bunch that can’t simply locate the target with desired consistency and regularity.

On Thursday under flood lights of Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, the newly-appointed Zimbabwe coach saw what is fundamentally wrong with a team boasting at least two players drawn from the Premier League.

Despite being hit by the absence of big-name players, including Khama Billiat, Knowledge Musona and Marshall Munetsi of Wolverhampton Wanderers due to injuries and personal reasons, the Romania-born Englishman felt the Warriors could have done better.

So what went wrong for Zimbabwe against Algeria?

“Many players were absent, but we had a very good team with very good personnel. I think, in a way, our work ethic wasn’t there in the first half. I don’t think my players worked hard enough the way I wanted,” Marinica told the Zimbabwe Football Association TV.

Algeria took the lead barely 14 minutes into the game through Al-Shamal FC striker Baghdad Bounedjah before Mohamed Amoura of VfL Wolfsburg and defender Jaouen Hadjam’s goals in the last five minutes of the first half put matters beyond the reach of Marinica’s men.

Substitute Tawanda Chirewa scored the Warriors’ consolation goal with a minute remaining on the clock. Zimbabwe return to action to face Qatar on Monday to step up preparations for the AFCON finals scheduled for December.