Warriors crush Botswana in Four Nations tournament opener

ZIMBABWE’s senior men’s football team kicked off its Four Nations tournament campaign with a convincing 3-0 win over host Botswana at Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown Saturday evening.

The Warriors scored three good first-half goals to silence the hosts before rounding off the match in the second half with another good performance, which saw goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze saving a penalty to maintain a clean sheet.

Highlanders’ player of the moment, Mongameli Tshuma, opened Zimbabwe’s scoring account in the 24th minute after making a good finish to grab a goal on his debut in national team colours.

Zimbabwe doubled its lead in the 32nd minute through McCauley Bonne, who benefitted from a good interplay with Bill Antonio.

The Warriors sealed their scoring account on the stroke of halftime through Belgian-based Antonio, who made it 3-0 in the 45th minute.

Returning for the second half, Warriors coach Marian Marinica introduced Daniel Msendami, who came in for third goalscorer Antonio in the 47th minute.

Botswana had a chance to score a consolation goal in the 66th minute after they were awarded a penalty, only to be denied by goalkeeper Chipezeze, who made a good save.

Zimbabwe’s win over Botswana has booked them a spot in the final, where they will play Zambia, who knocked out Malawi 9-8 on penalties.

The Four Nations tournament is a platform that Warriors coach Marinica is using to assess new players within the team, ahead of upcoming competitions.