Zimbabwe head coach Marian Marinică admits Bafana Bafana may be frustrated by their loss to Egypt but doesn’t believe it will play a role in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Group B finale on Monday.
A win for either side would seal their place in the last-16 of AFCON, making it a tantalising Cosafa derby with Egypt already qualified after their two wins.
With South Africa needing to just avoid defeat, the pressure to succeed are on the Warriors, who recently frustrated South Africa in their quest to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup a couple of months ago with a draw in Moses Mabhida Stadium.
“It’s tough to say, I can’t be in their mind, but they probably have some [mental] challenges, which is part of football, we had it in a way against Egypt, we thought it was a clear VAR penalty,” Marinică said.
“The players and staff are professional enough, not living in the past, it’s a new game, the rivalry might even be taken too far, everyone wants to win, no favouritism, fair play, both teams will give their best.
“We hope we can win, and that’s [part of the football entertainment, we can’t let the mentions take over, sometimes it happens, it’s a football match not war and we hope we are the best to win it.”
Having seen Bafana struggle to break down the Pharaohs with a back three defence and wing-backs, Marinică said it’s not a given they will look to emulate that approach.
“Horses for courses, we need to look what we have, Egypt thought it’s the best option, we will look what will be the best solution for us,” he concluded.
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