Former Angola international Fabrice Alcibiades Maico has cautioned Bafana Bafana and Egypt against underestimating Zimbabwe following the AFCON draw.
The continental showpiece’s draw placed South Africa, Egypt, Zimbabwe, and Angola in the same group.
While Maico acknowledges that South Africa, Egypt, and Angola will likely be the main contenders for the knockout stage, given their recent form and AFCON history, he believes Zimbabwe could be a dark horse.
He suggests that the underdogs have the potential to cause upsets and disrupt the plans of the group favorites.
‘THE ZIMBABWEAN TEAM MAY BE A SURPRISE’
“I think the group is complicated if we look at the history of two teams that have previously won the African Championship title (Egypt and South Africa),” Maico told Kooora as quoted by Soccer Laduma.
“But the Angolan team is capable of performing well if it plays as a team, as we did in the previous African Cup of Nations and the qualifiers for this edition.
“Our team finished the African Cup of Nations qualifiers without defeat and came first in its group, which gives us confidence in competing to qualify for the next round.
“I think the competition will be fierce between 3 teams: Egypt, South Africa, and Angola.
“The Zimbabwean team may be the surprise of the group, and may complicate things for the rest of the teams. I expect exciting matches in this group, and the opportunity will be available to everyone.”
