AFCON opener a good feeling

By Mbekezeli Ncube

The Warriors duo of Knowledge Musona and Nyasha Mushekwi have disclosed most of the players in the Zimbabwean squad felt honoured to play in the Afcon opener.

The Warriors played the Africa Cup of Nations opener against Egypt on Friday, a match in which they lost narrowly by one goal to nil despite some fantastic saves from goalkeeper Edmore Sibanda. Left back Divine Lunga received rave reviews from the ninternational media for keeping Egyptian danger man Mohamed Salah out of the game the game.

The Pharaohs solitary goal came courtesy of Mahmoud Hassan popularly known as Trezeguet who curled it home after a lapse in concentration from captain Musona.

'It was a good experience, for me I have played for some so called big teams in front of capacity crowds but this one was quite interesting because everyone was watching this game not only in the stadium but also on television back home and around the continent,' said Mushekwi who plays for Chinese side Dalian Yifang.

Mushekwi also praised the current Zimbabwean squad.

'You really can not compare teams from back in the days and now but right now I think this is probably the best Zimbabwean team assembled to date so we just have to work hard as a team and produce results,' added Mushekwi.

'It was a great feeling, we last played before a crowd like that back at home and also in DRC so it was a great atmosphere in the stadium, am also happy with our performance as a team. We were so calm and we didn't mind the pressure from their supporters, as an opening match it was so special,' said Musona.

The Warriors continue their fight in group A when they take on Uganda on Wednesday before finishing their group with a date against fellow SADC nation DRC on Sunday.