THE curtain comes down on a successful 2025 AFCON qualifying campaign for Zimbabwe and Cameroon at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde this afternoon with the spotlight falling on coaches --Michael Nees and Marc Brys -- in the battle for Group J superiority.
Kick-off is at 3pm (Zimbabwe time).
Under Nees' stewardship, Zimbabwe have demonstrated a renewed sense of purpose and are unbeaten the German took over the reins in August.
The Warriors secured their spot in next year's tournament with a game to spare, sitting second in Group J with nine points, trailing Group J leaders Cameroon by two points.
Brys has been more effective after the 62-year-old Belgian guided the Indomitable Lions to AFCON qualification, also unbeaten, with two games to spare.
Cameroon sit top of the group with 11 points while Zimbabwe have nine. The clash in Yaounde today will be more of a battle for superiority.
Nees appeared unbothered yesterday despite a barrage of questions from the Cameroonian journalists who even reminded him that the home side has not lost a match at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium since its inauguration in 1972.
Zimbabwe could be the first team to achieve the feat in 52 years if they upstage the West Africans.
"It's the first time I hear this historical fact, but we have to give our best," Nees told journalists during a pre-match press conference yesterday.
The German is hoping to draw inspiration from the Warriors gallant show in the first leg played at the Mandela Stadium in Uganda which ended goalless.
"We play a big team in Africa and we are not scared. We also can play football as we demonstrated in the first game in Uganda.
"Let's see how the match will go tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be an exciting match for all the supporters and the better team should win," said Nees.
The 57-year-old coach believes there is more to play for as the Warriors are keen to improve their rankings. The Warriors have now moved a collective 12 places up since the German coach took over a few months back to land on number 117.
Zimbabwe are set to make gains again following the 1-1 draw against Kenya in South Africa last Friday, which confirmed their place at next year's AFCON finals in Cameroon.
And, despite having already booked their place after amassing nine points, Nees told the press conference that the Warriors will still put their best foot forward this afternoon as a sign of respect to the fans and the other football stakeholders.
"For sure we are not coming here for holidays. We have to play a match and although both teams have since qualified it's still a football match that we have to respect with the best possible performance.
"We have to show respect to everybody who is a football lover and a football fan who invests his time and money to come and watch the match," he said.
Zimbabwe won two and drew three of their matches in Group J. They could still end at the top of the group if they shock the Cameroonians in their backyard.
"We know the first place is not yet guaranteed to any team and I think both teams can play without any pressure because we have all qualified.
"So, it could be a more exciting game and on the other side, we also respect our opponents. So, we take the game seriously. The FIFA rankings will also be affected by such things.
"We lost a few points on the FIFA rankings because we sent a development team to the CHAN which also comes with the FIFA rankings. So we want to stay unbeaten in the qualification so there is a lot to play for," said Nees.
Zimbabwe have thinned out a bit after France-based midfielder Marshal Munetsi was handed a compassionate leave while defender Gerald Takwara has also been knocked out of the game due to a shoulder injury he suffered on Friday.
Cameroon will be boosted by Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa's availability as the midfielder missed the game against Namibia due to his son's birth, but Carlos Baleba and Bryan Mbeumo are injury doubts.
Nees was set to inspect the pitch yesterday before finalising his strategies.
"The pace of the game depends on many factors," said Nees.
"We have good footballers yes and when we play Cameroon in Uganda it was a good stadium and it was a good pitch. The ball was flowing very fast. In some stadiums, you cannot do that.
"The pitch conditions will determine the pace of the game. I will see now in a few minutes when I am on the pitch if it's applicable.
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"If it's a bumpy pitch you will not see fluent passing game from either side. Our team is a good football team, with good skillful players.
"They may not be as physically strong as the Cameroonians but in football, you need a good mixture, not only big men. You need a few big men, a few smaller men a few light men, and a little bit more with body mass. If you have a good balance and a good mixture then I think it's a good team," said Nees.
The Indomitable Lions, under Brys, extended their unbeaten run to seven matches across all competitions when they drew 0-0 with Namibia last week. They had registered three draws and four victories.
But the Belgian is not leaving anything to chance.
"Zimbabwe is a strong team; they play fast and are close to us in skill, so we need to focus on what they do well. We'll head straight home for training."
"And I think four to five days should be enough to get back to our usual starting line-up."
Since Marc Brys took over as head coach, the Indomitable Lions have stayed undefeated in seven matches. Brys' leadership has seen the team earn 11 points and top Group J of the AFCON qualifiers.
