By Sheldon Hakata
FOR the first time in recent memory, the Warriors face two West African teams, Burkina Faso and Niger, as they make use of the June FIFA friendlies window to sharpen their spears.
German tactician and Zimbabwe national team gaffer, Michael Nees, this week named two Zimbabwe Warriors squads — one for the two international friendlies in Morocco and the other for the 2025 COSAFA Cup in South Africa. The selection is bristling with a mix of overseas-based and local talent, with Scottland FC and Ngezi Platinum emerging as the domestic powerhouses.
The Mabvuku-based outfit leads the way in the Morocco-bound squad with five players while Ngezi boasts six players in the COSAFA team.
This blend of European-based discipline and local talent might just be what the doctor ordered.
The upcoming friendly matches present an important opportunity for Nees and his technical team to call up players they wish to assess ahead of the AFCON finals scheduled for Morocco in December.
ZIFA, in collaboration with the technical team, remains committed to ensuring that the Warriors are well prepared to represent the nation.
Nees’ army locks horns with Burkina Faso on June 6 before playing Niger four days later.
Back in 2014, Zimbabwe powered their way into their first-ever African Nations Championship when they eliminated Burkina Faso with a hard-fought win at Athlone. Vice-captain Masimba Mambare struck the winner, Zimbabwe’s first goal at the tournament, when he rose to connect with a Milton Ncube cross in the 56th minute.
Ian Gorowa and his men etched their names into the football history books when they became the first group of Warriors to go beyond the group stages of the Africa Nations Cup after two previous attempts in 2009 and 2011 had failed to yield the desired results.
Gorowa was in charge of the Warriors then.
“It has been very difficult to score and win, but I think that we have won, we can move on from here. I thought Burkina Faso played very well but we took one of our chances and scored,” Gorowa was quoted as saying in a post-match interview.
These matches will present an opportunity for the coach and technical staff to assess the players’ readiness, test combinations and build cohesion as the team continues with its journey of growth and development on the international stage.
Burkina Faso and Niger might not be high-profile opponents, but the Zimbabwe national men’s team will have the opportunity to guess their readiness against these West African minnows ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Facing the minnows is better than not playing at all. It would be a step forward as has been the case in the past when Zimbabwe concentrated on playing its Southern African neighbours — Zambia, South Africa and Malawi.
The fans would surely have preferred to test their mettle against traditional African powerhouses like Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia or Algeria, but these teams only prefer to play against each other or face European opposition when it comes to international friendly matches.
On the other hand, the likes of Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Mali are not keen on playing lowly ranked teams like Zimbabwe.
The Warriors have been drawn in the same 2026 World Cup and AFCON 2025 groups with South Africa. As such, Bafana Bafana will not be interested in clashing with the Warriors, either.
Recent results suggest that Burkina Faso are likely to be much stronger opponents than Nigeria, while the gap between Nigeria and Niger has narrowed considerably in recent years.
Whatever the case maybe, the truth is that ZIFA is moving in the right direction. The matches will give the Warriors’ gaffer coach a rare chance to experiment with the pool of players at his disposal without stressing too much about the results.
These friendly matches will provide an opportunity for him to blood new players.
Nees has been all over the UK and Europe scouting for top-class class players who can beat any team in Africa if given time to gel.
At the AFCON 2025, Zimbabwe are in a seemingly intimidating group that includes the likes of Angola, Egypt and South Africa.
However, the Warriors can successfully negotiate their way through if they are thoroughly prepared.
On that premise, Warriors fans hope that ZIFA will be in a much better position to look after the team well against Burkina and Niger, so that they will make themselves available after the June matches.
What the fans expect is seamless organisation which will also attract more players to the Warriors’ cause for future international engagements.
Sadly, though, the Warriors will not be playing at home as the giant National Sports Stadium is still undergoing renovations.
However, some diehard football fans are prepared to travel all the way to Morocco at their own expense just to watch their local heroes in action.
Go Warriors Go!!!