AFCON: Marinica rues Zimbabwe’s costly mistakes against Bafana

Zimbabwe national team coach Marian ‘Mario’ Marinica says a catalogue of mistakes led to his side out of the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Morocco.

The former Liberia handler said this, as shared in a video by YouTube channel PrimeSportsWithMahlatse, in a reaction after going down 2-3 to Bafana Bafana in a Group B match on Monday.

The man, who also led Malawi to the AFCON round-of-16 in the 2021 edition of the tournament held in Cameroon, highlighted the positives, including his team’s brave attacking football against the South Africans. On the other hand, the coach regretted his team’s defensive errors.

“We said that we would come to attack, we said that we could come to score goals. We managed to score goals. Unfortunately, that is football. Sometimes players make mistakes and unfortunately, this time, the mistakes cost us…I don’t blame them. That is life,” he said.

“We had fantastic chances and with a bit of luck, we could have scored more goals. We promised that we would give South Africa a run for their money. We promised back home that we would fight for the country. It is a bitter disappointment, but it is something, we have to move on.”

Why Zimbabwe exited AFCON

Zimbabwe needed a win at all costs to salvage something from their bid for a place in the round-of-16 of the continental competition.

However, despite fighting back through goals from Tawanda Maswanishe and Aubrey Modiba’s own goal, Hugo Broos’ men prevailed courtesy of Oswin Appollis’s last-gasp penalty after earlier goals from Lyle Foster and Divine Lunga’s own goal.

Ahead of the match, Marinica had dropped star striker Knowledge Musona from the starting XI to face South Africa.

The Scottland FC veteran paved the way for Maswanishe who scored the equaliser soon after Lunga’s own goal. Foster restored South Africa’s lead only for Modiba’s own goal to bring Zimbabwe level. Appollis finally confirmed South Africa’s place in the knockout phase with a penalty goal after Zimbabwe captain Marvelous Nakamba’s handball while clearing a goal-bound effort.