daniel chigunweZimbabwe enjoyed an inconsistent 2024 but the Warriors were still able to book their place at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. While there is still a lot of work to do in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, could 2025 be a memorable year?
March of 2024 saw Zimbabwe return to the field following two draws with Rwanda (0-0) and Nigeria (1-1) in World Cup qualifying in 2023. While the results were both positive as they had avoided defeat, there was clearly room from improvement going forward after only scoring once across two games.
They seemed to remedy this in their opening match of 2024 in a friendly with Zambia in which they won 6-5 on penalties after the game ended 2-2. However, a 3-1 loss at the hands of Kenya followed in a bad tempered friendly in which both sides had a player sent off.
The inconsistent start to the year was a sign of things to come. June saw defeats to Lesotho and South Africa in World Cup qualifying followed by wins over Comoros and Zambia in the COSAFA Cup.
The Warriors were then beaten 2-0 by Kenya in their final COSAFA Cup match in July as they crashed out of the tournament despite winning two of their three matches.
The qualifying stages for AFCON 2025 was something that was likely coming too soon for Zimbabwe despite being away from international football for over two months.
However, the Warriors put their best foot forward in qualifying, going unbeaten across their opening five matches, with this run featuring three draws and two wins over Namibia.
Frustratingly, they were unable to transfer their AFCON qualifying success into the African Nations Championship qualification round, losing 4-0 on aggregate against Eswatini, which included an embarrassing 3-0 home defeat to their opponents.
They then ended their AFCON 2025 qualifying campaign with a 2-1 loss to Cameroon that meant little as they had already secured their place at the finals.
The loss to Cameroon in November was their last outing in 2024. While they secured their place at AFCON 2025, they finished the year on the back of a four-game winless run featuring one draw and three defeats.
While some fixtures are still to be decided, Zimbabwe have a busy 2025 ahead:
March 19 – Zimbabwe vs Benin – 2026 World Cup Qualifying
March 22 – Nigeria vs Zimbabwe – 2026 World Cup Qualifying
Summer 2025 – Potential COSAFA tournament
September 3 – Benin vs Zimbabwe – 2026 World Cup Qualifying
September 6 – Zimbabwe vs Rwanda – 2026 World Cup Qualifying
October 8 – Zimbabwe vs South Africa – 2026 World Cup Qualifying
October 11 – Lesotho vs Zimbabwe – 2026 World Cup Qualifying
December 2025 – January 2026 – AFCON 2025
Once again, the month of March will signal the start of their international campaign, but can they build on from their inconsistent performances in 2024? Securing their place at a major competition in 2025 was a huge positive, but they have been beaten too often, while they continue to struggle for consistent goals.
A major concern for the nation is that they currently sit in sixth in World Cup qualifying Group C. With two points from four games, Zimbabwe are five short of Rwanda at the summit. The worry for the nation is that South Africa and Benin also sit on seven points. This simply means that even if Rwanda suddenly start to drop points, another two sides are waiting to pounce.
A clash against Benin is their first outing of 2025 before a match against Nigeria ends their exploits in March. Games against Benin and Rwanda in September and South Africa and Lesotho in October take the side towards AFCON 2025.
With six rounds and 18 points still to collect, Zimbabwe do still have the time to climb the table. However, it is worth noting that only the side in first place will automatically secure their place at the 2026 World Cup. Four of the best second-placed finishers will battle it out across semi-finals and a final for a shot at the Inter-Confederation Play-Offs in which nothing can be taken for granted. Things already look grim for Zimbabwe in World Cup qualifying.
A poor run in World Cup qualifying would not set them up well for what will likely be a very tough AFCON campaign across December 2025 through to January 2026, in which Bets.co.za have them listed as tournament outsiders.
There are some very strong sides in the draw for a competition that each team is desperate to win. While the groups have not yet been decided, Zimbabwe will come up against the best Africa has to offer across December and January.
With goals at a premium, do they have the firepower to go on a strong run at the end of next year?
The COSAFA Cup will also likely feature in 2025, with Zimbabwe returning after missing two consecutive tournaments with a group-stage elimination in 2024. If they are to play in 2024, they will feel they have to give a better account of themselves in 2025. For a side that has won the competition six times, their group-stage elimination in 2024 was not good enough.
Next year will be a huge test for Zimbabwe. A number of must-win World Cup qualifiers in March will give their fans a good idea of where the year will go. Securing a handful of wins in their opening few matches will have the side dreaming of a stunning run to the 2026 World Cup.
If they can make winning a habit then 2025 could end with silverware for the nation. It may be fanciful to think they will launch themselves to the top of their World Cup qualifying group and win AFCON 2025, but if they can add goals and points to what has been a fairly solid defence this year, then anything can happen.
Online Reporter