Their most recent encounter was a 0-0 draw in Durban in October’s 2026 World Cup qualifier, but coach Hugo Broos says he has seen a new Zimbabwe at the AFCON in Morocco under their new coach, Mario Marinica.
South Africa will be expected to win against the Warriors, but Broos says it will not be easy against a team that will fight them to the end.
“They are playing a different way; this is not the Zimbabwe of six months ago,” Broos told reporters on Sunday. “They are playing aggressively – not brutally, but aggressively – and they are a tough team.
“So again, for us it will be tough tomorrow and we will have to reach our best level to beat them.”
Broos says a draw is the minimum requirement to get his side into the next stage, which is all they are thinking about, rather than whether they qualify in second or third place in the pool.
“We are a little bit in the same situation as two years ago in the group stages in Ivory Coast. Also in the last game we could not lose (a 0-0 draw with Tunisia), and this is the same thing tomorrow.
“If we don’t lose, we are in the next round, and that is the most important thing for us. On the other side, we all know the opponent tomorrow will be a tough one.
“I have been coach of South Africa for four years and in every qualification campaign during that time they have been in our group. We know each other very well. They also like to win against us – we have felt that before in previous matches.”
Broos is still bristling from Friday’s 1-0 loss to Egypt, in which he felt the Pharaohs were awarded a soft penalty while South Africa were denied a clear-cut spot-kick for handball.
“I am still frustrated about the result against Egypt. The game was decided by two decisions that were not right, for me,” said Broos.
“There are so many rules now that nobody knows anymore what to decide. The penalty against us – OK, my player (Khuliso Mudau) touched (Mohamed) Salah in the face, but it was not a hit, just touching. A yellow card for that, OK. But a penalty for that, I don’t understand.
“And then the penalty that we did not get was a clear handball; the player blocked the shot at goal. They explained it as the supporting arm, but this is nonsense.
“The first half was not good from our side, but in the second half we created a lot of chances, so we needed a little bit of luck as well.
“The game tomorrow is totally different, but we are confident. We are frustrated by the Egypt loss, but maybe that means there is extra motivation for us tomorrow.”
