AFCON: Zimbabwe dropped points against Angola- Marinica

Zimbabwe coach Marian ‘Mario’ Marinica has reacted to his team’s one-all draw with Angola at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Morocco on Friday.

🎥 HIGHLIGHTS: 🇦🇴 1-1 🇿🇼

All square between Angola and Zimbabwe in Matchday 2 of the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 pic.twitter.com/zPMSwHLXaM

— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 26, 2025

The Romania-born mentor insisted that his team had the chances to collect maximum points against the Angolans in the Group B match, but his players wasted glorious scoring opportunities.

Veteran striker Knowledge Musona scored late in the game to cancel out Gelson Dala’s 24th-minute opener for the Palancas Negras, leaving the Warriors fourth in the group with one point just like third-placed Angola. Egypt and South Africa sit in first and second positions respectively.

In a post-match reaction as quoted by Soccer24 website, the former Liberia coach rued his team’s scoring opportunities.

“It feels like two points dropped because we had several chances towards the end that could have finished the game,” Marinica said. “Wadi had a big opportunity that had the potential to make a difference. We came from behind against a very good side and picked up a point, but we now need to win our last Group B game to stand a chance of reaching the knockout stage.”

What next for Zimbabwe in Group B?

The Warriors have a final chance to sneak through to the next stage of the competition when they face rivals South Africa on Monday at Stade de Marrakech. Kick-off is at 6 pm CAT.

Reflecting on the final game against Hugo Broos’ men, Marinica said: “We came from behind against a very good side and picked up a point, but we now need to win our last Group B game to stand a chance of reaching the knockout stage.”

In another match for the group, Angola will take on Egypt to wrap up the pool’s assignments. Hassan Hossam’s Egypt has already secured a place in the next stage of the competition after collecting maximum points with two straight wins.