Zimbabwe: Young Warriors Coach Blames His Troops

16 September 2025

Young Warriors coach Thulani Sibanda has blamed his troops for crashing out of the COSAFA Under-17 competition without a win yesterday.Zimbabwe suffered a 2-3 loss at the hands of Comoros at Ngoni yesterday in their final group clash.

They had lost 0-1 against Mozambique and were then held to a goalless draw by Eswatini prior to their loss at the hands of Comoros.

Sibanda said even social league players could have defended better than his youngsters.

His decision to throw Tadiwa Chakuchichi into the bench was also questionable.

Chakuchichi changed the complexion of the game when he was introduced after the restart as he restored parity 10 minutes later, canceling Comoros's 1-0 lead.

"I'm not against any player but at this level there is no way you can concede the goals that we have conceded.

"These types of errors can't be committed by national team players.

"We dominated the game but the three goals we conceded could have been avoided even if we had fielded social league defenders," said Sibanda.

The Young Warriors might have defended poorly but Sibanda's attempt to dodge accountability was unacceptable.

He also felt that the Young Warriors could have performed better if they had prepared better for this tournament.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.