Zimbabwe's Musona hopes the third time will be the charm

Zimbabwe captain Knowledge Musona would like to make the 2021 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations the best yet of his career.

The Warriors appear in the AFCON finals for the fifth time and have yet to make it out of the group stages. In the last edition (Egypt 2019), Zimbabwe trailed their group with a lone point.

Musona hopes the Cameroon 2021 edition will propel the team to a better finish.

“I have already played at two AFCON finals without progressing to the knockout stages. Doing it now will mean a lot to me as an individual and to the whole team, because it will be historic for every player. It’s an opportunity for us to show that we can perform at big tournaments like AFCON,” said Musona.

Arriving early in Cameroon to prepare for the tournament may come in handy for Norman Mapeza’s side. The Warriors landed in Cameroon 10 days before their opening match against Senegal on Monday, 10 January at the Bafoussam Omnisport Stadium.

“Coming in early was really important for us to be together for longer as a team, while we also acclimatise to the environment for those players who are based in places with different weather conditions. We still have more days to train, and we will be ready for our first game. I am confident that we will have a good tournament that will make the whole country proud,” he added.

Despite having big name players such as Marvelous Nakamba, Marshall Munetsi and Brendan Galloway missing out due to injuries, while Khama Billiat upheld his decision to retire from international football, Musona is confident that the team will do well.

“It’s unfortunate that we are missing some players who were with us during the qualifiers because of injuries and other issues, but I think we still have the quality to compete with any team. I definitely think that we are going to have a good tournament, especially with the preparations that we have done so far, and what we will still do in the remaining days,” Musona concluded.