Zimbabwe lost their opening game 2-1 to Egypt

There have been six months of celebration and anticipation following Zimbabwe's long-awaited achievement.

When the Warriors lost their qualifying group on goal difference it looked as though they were to continue their history of near-misses.

The nation was engulfed with gloom and despair when a 2-0 home win in their final game wasn't good enough. But 24 hours later, people took to the streets in wild celebration as other results meant that Zimbabwe had qualified as the best runners-up.

Charles Mabika is a radio commentator and Zimbabwe's 'voice of football', and given the Warrior's heartbreaking history, he still feels its too good to be true.

"I never thought this moment would come" he said.

"It's still like a dream. Maybe now we will qualify for the Cup of Nations every year, but I don't think anything will surpass this."

For countless Zimbabweans, the Nations Cup qualification has provided a focus away from their daily hardships, and although government had for years taken little interest in football, things have now changed.

The song 'Score Warriors' was written by information minister Jonathan Moyo, and it's been given exhaustive airplay for the past six months or so.

President Robert Mugabe has invited the Warriors to his official residence for the first time ever, and the government's Warriors Trust has laid on heavily-subsidised trips to Tunisia for 130 fans.

The amount of coverage given to football in the state-run media has been astounding, and when the team left for Tunisia on Monday there was a three-hour live broadcast from Harare international airport.

"One would need to be in Zimbabwe to experience the football fever that has gripped the country, and I think it's long overdue" says Charles Mabika.

"For years people have been bemoaning the fact that the government have not been involved enough in the world's favourite sport, and I hope it continues even after the Cup of Nations".

For many of the players, qualifying for the Nations Cup finals was becoming an elusive dream. This was probably the last chance for 33-year-old defender Kaitano Tembo to play at African football's showpiece.

"For us to be the first group of players to qualify is quite an achievement for us and the nation as well, so we're very excited about it" he says.

When Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980, Sunday Marimo was the captain of the national football team. Now the Warriors coach, Marimo has succeeded in taking Zimbabwe to the Cup of Nations where many foreigners failed, among them Clemens Westerhof, who won the Cup in 1994 with Nigeria.

Marimo's achievement is all the more remarkable as Zimbabwe's qualification came against a backdrop of administrative chaos and severe financial problems at the FA. But he was able to win the confidence of the players and the fans.

"I think the supporters were tremendous" he says.

"They supported us all the way through. And I must thank the senior players for keeping the youngsters together - we were like a family from our first to our last game".

But how will Zimbabwe acquit themselves in Tunisia? Their preparations left a lot to be desired, and they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Egypt in their opening game.

"The thought from my mind is that it will be a good experience but I don't see us getting further than the first round" says Charles Mabika. "But my soul says we have beaten these teams before and we can do it again, so maybe we can get to the semi-finals".