Sunday Mar 28, 2021. 16:00
Zimbabwe will be out to claim the bragging rights in their rivalry with Zambia when the teams meet in their final Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, set for the National Sport Stadium in Harare on Monday 29 March, kick-off at 21:00 CAT.
Zimbabwe secured a third successive appearance at the AFCON when they defeated Botswana 1-0 in Francistown last Thursday, with Perfect Chikwende’s goal enough to see them join Group H winners Algeria in booking a ticket to Cameroon 2022.
2022 AFCON QUALIFIERS GROUP STANDINGS
The Warriors will be looking to add to their already buoyant mood by putting one over long-time rivals Zambia, who are already hurting after a 3-3 draw at home to the North Africans in Lusaka last Thursday which put them out of contention for qualification – and means they will miss a third successive Nations Cup tournament.
“I am on cloud nine. I had gone for six games without winning and it was becoming frustrating,” said Zimbabwe coach Zdravko Logarusic. “But, I knew when I will eventually win, the victory will be massive, not in terms of scoreline, but in terms of significance.”
Zambia coach Milutin Sredojevic, meanwhile, reckons his team were unlucky not to beat the Fennec Foxes: “Our boys gave everything, unfortunately the best was not good enough on the day and we ran out of time, otherwise we could have won the game.”
He added, “We outplayed the Algerians but this was not enough as we failed to outscore them, we need to tighten the back and not concede.”
In head-to-head stats, Zimbabwe and Zambia have met in 16 international matches since 2005. The Warriors have claimed seven wins compared to six for Chipolopolo, while three games have been drawn. Zimbabwe got the better of Zambia when the teams last met, in Lusaka in November 2019, with a 2-1 win thanks to a brace from Khama Billiat.
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