Online Reporter
GENERALLY, some of the Warriors’ worst moments have come against the DRC, the resurgent side they host at the National Sports Club this evening.
The AFCON qualifier starts at 6pm.
The Congolese thrashed a makeshift Warriors 5-0 in Kinshasa, after the majority of first-team players abandoned the trip, amid an outbreak of Ebola in that country.
The massacre unfolded on June 4, 1995, in an AFCON qualifier.
In their last meeting, at the AFCON finals, in Egypt in 2019, the Congolese ran rampant and thrashed the Warriors 4-0.
Interestingly, the two sides had met in the qualifiers for that AFCON with the Warriors shocking DRC in Kinshasa and then settling for a draw at the National Sports Stadium.
It’s a point the Warriors will probably be happy to take this time around but their fans will demand that they go for the kill.
While Zimbabwe clawed back from a looming loss in their Group E opener, DRC cruised to a 2-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea in Kinshasa under French coach Sebastien Desabre.
Captain and centre-back Chancel Mbemba nodded the Congolese in front within four minutes and Newcastle United striker Yoane Wissa added a second goal after half-time.
Long considered one of the underachieving national teams in Africa, the Leopards have been transformed under Desabre into a well-drilled, combative unit.
He took them to the 2026 World Cup after a 52-year absence, and they led England for 68 minutes of a last-32 clash before a Harry Kane brace turned the tables.
Now, they take on the Warriors this evening.
Wissa’s pace and trickery is a major concern, especially for a Warriors defence which was not as solid as their fans would want on Thursday.
Then, there is also the dangerous Fiston Mayele, who is the main man, when it comes to goals, at Egyptian side Pyramids.
The Congolese were welcomed by a merry band of their fans, who are resident here in Zimbabwe, who turned the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport into a mini Rhumba theatre. – Sports Reporter/Agencies
