NATHANIEL GONDO
Zimbabwe secured a thrilling 3-1 victory over Namibia in their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match played yesterday at the Orlando Stadium to boost their qualifying chances for AFCON 2025.
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| Image: X/@online_zifa |
The match was played at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa due to the unavailability of approved stadiums in Zimbabwe.
The win marks Zimbabwe's second triumph over Namibia in a span of just a few days, with the previous match ending 1-0 in Zim’s favour.
After a quick start by the visitors Zimbabwe was able to held on as they restricted Namibia to a goal less draw in the first half.
Quickly in the second Zimbabwe came hotly and the Namibia defence was unable to hold them as the Simba Bhora man, Walter Musona, scored a wonder goal in the 50th minute.
This settled the nerves as the Warriors started to play with more composure and in the 61st minute Musona completed his brace via a penalty which was won by Jordan Zemura.
Dube came on as substitute to seal off the deal with a goal in the 89th minute with another beautiful Zemura assist.
Namibia's Silveador Claudius Eiseb managed to score a consolation goal in the 90th minute, but it was too little and too late as the Warriors picked up a second win over their SADC rivals.
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This win strengthens Zimbabwe's position in Group J, where they now sit second with 8 points, just two points behind group leaders Cameroon. Zimbabwe's solid defense has been a key factor in their success with only one goal conceded since Michael Nees took charge of the Warriors.
Namibia are languishing on the other bottom of the log without a win and this means they can no longer qualify for Africa’s biggest tourney show piece.
Now Zimbabwe needs to avoid any defeat in the last two games to qualify for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations set to be hosted in Morocco.
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