Zimbabwe coach Logarusic hails players despite CHAN exit

Zimbabwe coach Zdravko Logarusic has reserved special praise for his players despite their early exit from the Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2020 in Cameroon.

The Warriors boss said notwithstanding the lack of competition in the southern African country the players of the national team gave off their best.

The Croatian trainer said his charges performed by far better than the pre-tournament preparation they had ahead of the tournament exclusively designed for home-based players.

Logarusic made the comments after they crashed out of the tournament on Sunday following their 1-0 defeat to Mali at Japoma Stadium in Douala.

Zimbabwe finished bottom of Group A with no points and their coach praised the Malians as well as his players for their commitment.

“Congratulations to Mali for qualifying for the second round. Mali is an organized team with and without the ball,” Logarusic said at the post match press conference on Sunday.

“I think as a manager that despite not playing in official competition for over a year, we played well. We tried to compete like we did and gave more than the preparation we had.”

Demba Diallo netted the lone goal for Mali against Zimbabwe after 12 minutes at Japoma Stadium in Douala.

Mali qualified for the quarterfinals after winning the match against Zimbabwe to finish top of the group.