WARRIORS striker Prince Dube has rallied his teammates to keep working hard and look toward the future after his first-half penalty secured a 1-0 victory over India, earning Zimbabwe the bronze medal at the 2026 Unity Cup, which concluded on Saturday at The Valley Stadium in London.
Zimbabwe had begun the tournament on a disappointing note, suffering a 2-0 defeat to eventual champions Nigeria in the semi-finals last Tuesday.
However, they made amends on Saturday to ensure they finished their debut appearance in the tournament with silverware. Nigeria’s Super Eagles went on to defeat Jamaica 3-0 in the final to secure their fourth Unity Cup title.
Dube, who did not feature against Nigeria, scored his fourth goal in 22 appearances for the national team. It was also his second goal in four international matches, having found the net against Egypt during Zimbabwe’s 2-1 defeat at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in December last year.
After missing the Mukuru Cup triumph in March, the 29-year-old Young Africans forward was making his first appearance for the Warriors since the Afcon finals and once again demonstrated why he is regarded as one of Zimbabwe's most dependable attacking talents.
Speaking after the match, Dube emphasised collective progress rather than individual achievement.
“I think all I can say is that it’s positive; it's good to win as a team,” Dube said.
“So I think we just have to continue from here and make sure that we move forward, continue working hard for the country. When the games are coming, make sure that we are ready.
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“I think it’s always an honour to represent my country. I always try to do my best for the nation. So all I can say is that whenever I get a chance, I just want to do my best and make sure I add value to the team. It's a team sport, so as long as I’m contributing to the team, that’s the most important thing.”
The tournament marked the first assignment for interim coach Kaitano Tembo, who took charge following the resignation of Romanian tactician Marian Marinica in April.
Tembo used the London tour to assess several new faces as he seeks to build squad depth ahead of the 2027 Afcon qualifiers, which begin in September.
Corbin Mthunzi, Marley Tavaziva, Shane Maroodza, Abubakar Moffat, Sean Fusire, and Future Sibanda were all handed opportunities to impress.
Goalkeeper Tavaziva, who plays for Brentford’s development side, justified his selection with a clean sheet on debut against India, while Mthunzi, Maroodza and Moffat also delivered encouraging performances.
Reflecting on the tournament, Tembo said the trip was more about expanding the player pool than chasing immediate results.
“Obviously, winning a game is always good for the morale of the team, but I think we shouldn’t think too much about the results because the most important thing for us was to come here and give opportunities to some of our players and create a bigger pool in terms of profiling our players,” Tembo said.
“So that’s our objective going forward because when we start the qualifiers, we might not have enough time for us to bring in new players, so this was the perfect platform for us to do that.”
The former SuperSport United coach stressed the importance of long-term planning.
“But for me, from my background, it's always about laying the foundation. Preparation is very key because we can come here and win a game, but not really be prepared. We could have brought in probably some of our strongest players, and maybe against Nigeria, it could have been a different game. What's important is for us to come and see the other players, so that we feel that they should have a look at the team and prepare them for the real competition.
“So, we thank the organisers for affording us that opportunity because we played against stronger opponents who have given us a good test. And for that, it's important because you need to be prepared going forward. In our group, we’ve Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea and the DRC. So there’s no smaller team in Africa. We need to be ready and play under different conditions.”
Despite keeping his sights firmly on the future, Tembo admitted the victory over India had provided a timely confidence boost.
“Winning matches gives a good feeling as well in terms of building confidence in an individual. And I think that’s what it has done to me as well as to the rest of the players and the group. That will also give us more belief going forward,” he said.
