Marinica basks in Mukuru Cup glory for Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe national team coach Marian ‘Mario’ Marinica says lifting Mukuru Four Nations Tournament title in Botswana on Tuesday is a good stepping stone for future challenges.

The former Malawi handler said winning the cup serves as a good foundation for the Warriors to compete strongly in future competitions including the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

Players and President celebrate!#PrideReignited #bayawabaya #Mukuru4Nations pic.twitter.com/lokrfrCdLu

— Zimbabwe Football Association (@online_zifa) March 31, 2026

“Congratulation to all the backroom staff, including the players,” said the coach in a post-match interview.

“They have done a fantastic job together to try to put into practice what we wanted to do. It is a good stepping stone for us to be able to move on from now.”

Marinica acknowledged Mukuru and Botswana FA

The Romanian also extended his appreciation to Botswana Football Association for hosting the tournament from March 28 to 31. The former Liberian mentor also acknowledged financial services firm Mukuru’s sponsorship of the competition.

The man who succeeded German Michael Nees late last year, shared insights on how Zimbabwe has improved defensively.

“In the last games, we have been conceding. In seven games, we conceded ten goals, so we needed a bit of a change, but we didn’t try to change everything. Fortunately, we scored again, and we could have scored more but we had very good opponents, Botswana and Zambia are both good teams,” he added.

Marinica acknowledged the pedigree of the opponents the Warriors faced during the Mukuru Four Nations Tournament.

“All the opponents worked very hard. It was very tough battles. Zambia had their chances and we also had our chances, so it was a very tight match. All opponents put us under pressure. We faced a fantastic challenge.”

The newly crowned champions started the competition with an impressive 3-0 victory over Botswana in the semifinal on Saturday to date Zambia in the final. Substitute Junior Zindoga created the sole goal for the Warriors two minutes remaining on the clock to win the cup.

The Zebras settled for a third-place finish after edging Malawi 1-0 also on Tuesday.