{"id":103757,"date":"2025-01-31T12:14:33","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T10:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/warriors-coach-nees-reflects-on-2025-afcon-draw"},"modified":"2025-02-10T23:07:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T21:07:08","slug":"warriors-coach-nees-reflects-on-2025-afcon-draw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/warriors-coach-nees-reflects-on-2025-afcon-draw","title":{"rendered":"Warriors Coach Nees Reflects On 2025 AFCON Draw"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Warriors head coach Michael Nees has said Zimbabwe has been drawn into a tough group for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), set to take place later this year in Morocco.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe was placed in Group B, alongside Egypt, South Africa, and Angola. Egypt, a seven-time AFCON champion, and South Africa, the 1996 AFCON winners, are both strong teams.<\/p>\n

The tournament will run from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, marking Zimbabwe\u2019s return to Africa\u2019s biggest football event after missing the previous edition in Co\u0302te d\u2019Ivoire due to a FIFA suspension.<\/p>\n

Nees is relieved that the Warriors avoided the host nation, Morocco, but acknowledges the strength of their opponents. He said:<\/p>\n

We avoided the host nation, Morocco, but we are still in a very strong group. Facing three familiar opponents means there are no secrets.Latest<\/p>\n

Our matches against Bafana Bafana and Angola will be intense regional derbies, while Egypt, the record champions, will undoubtedly come with their best squad, including world-class talent.<\/p>\n

We need to be ready from day one. With proper preparation, we can take on this challenge. Our goal, like every other team, is to progress beyond the group stage. We respect our opponents, but we also believe in our own abilities.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe\u2019s campaign will begin against Egypt at Stade Agadir on December 22. They will then face Angola at Stade de Marrakech on December 26, before a final group-stage match against South Africa also at Stade de Marrakech on December 29.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Warriors head coach Michael Nees has said Zimbabwe has been drawn into a tough group for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), set to take place later this year in Morocco. Zimbabwe was placed in Group B, alongside Egypt, South Africa, and Angola. Egypt, a seven-time AFCON champion, and South Africa, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":103756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,16],"tags":[17218,17144,19],"class_list":["post-103757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-2025-afcon-finals","tag-michael-nees","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"\nWarriors Coach Nees Reflects On 2025 AFCON Draw - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Warriors head coach Michael Nees has said Zimbabwe has been drawn into a tough group for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/warriors-coach-nees-reflects-on-2025-afcon-draw\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Warriors Coach Nees Reflects On 2025 AFCON Draw\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Warriors head coach Michael Nees has said Zimbabwe has been drawn into a tough group for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/warriors-coach-nees-reflects-on-2025-afcon-draw\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-31T10:14:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-10T21:07:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2025\/01\/sm_1738313394.291216.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1556\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1309\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/warriors-coach-nees-reflects-on-2025-afcon-draw#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/warriors-coach-nees-reflects-on-2025-afcon-draw\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Warriors Coach Nees Reflects On 2025 AFCON Draw\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-31T10:14:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-10T21:07:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/warriors-coach-nees-reflects-on-2025-afcon-draw\"},\"wordCount\":262,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/warriors-coach-nees-reflects-on-2025-afcon-draw#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2025\/01\/sm_1738313394.291216.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2025 AFCON Finals\",\"Michael Nees\",\"Zimbabwe\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/warriors-coach-nees-reflects-on-2025-afcon-draw#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/warriors-coach-nees-reflects-on-2025-afcon-draw\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/warriors-coach-nees-reflects-on-2025-afcon-draw\",\"name\":\"Warriors Coach Nees Reflects On 2025 AFCON Draw - 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