Zimbabwe national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Zimbabwe

Nickname(s)	The Warriors
Association	Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	COSAFA (Southern Africa)
Head coach	Norman Mapeza (Interim)
Captain	Marvelous Nakamba
Most caps	Peter Ndlovu (81)
Top scorer	Peter Ndlovu (37)
Home stadium	National Sports Stadium
FIFA code	ZIM
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	113 1 (7 February 2019)
Highest	39 (April 1994)
Lowest	131 (October 2009, February–March 2016)
Elo ranking
Current	90 2 (3 March 2019)
Highest	56 (April 1995)
Lowest	128 (March 2011)
First international
Southern Rhodesia 0–4 Northern Rhodesia  (Southern Rhodesia; 1946)
Biggest win
Botswana 0–7 Zimbabwe  (Gaborone, Botswana; 26 August 1990)
Biggest defeat
South Africa 7–0 Rhodesia  (South Africa; 9 April 1977)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	5 (first in 2004)
Best result	Group stage (2004, 2006, 2017, 2019, 2021)
African Nations Championship
Appearances	5 (first in 2009)
Best result	Fourth place (2014)
COSAFA Cup
Appearances	20 (first in 1997)
Best result	Champions (2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2017, 2018)
Medal record COSAFA Cup Gold 2000 Southern Africa Gold 2003 Southern Africa Gold 2005 Southern Africa Gold 2009 Zimbabwe Gold 2017 South Africa Gold 2018 South Africa Silver 1998 Southern Africa Silver 2001 Southern Africa Silver 2013 Zambia Team Bronze 2019 South Africa CECAFA Cup Gold 1985 Zimbabwe Silver 1983 Kenya Bronze 1982 Uganda

The Zimbabwe national football team (nicknamed The Warriors) represents Zimbabwe in men's international football and is controlled by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), formerly known as the Football Association of Rhodesia. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals, but has qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations five times. Zimbabwe has also won the COSAFA Cup a record six times. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

History

Southern Rhodesia played their first official match against the England Amateur national football team as part of the latter's tour of South Africa and Rhodesia in June 1929. Southern Rhodesia lost their first two matches against England 4–0 and 6–1, respectively. In 1965, following Southern Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence as Rhodesia, FIFA requested that the Football Association of Rhodesia reform to be a multi-racial organisation. Prior to this, only white Rhodesians were selected for the national football team but after 1965 the team became multi-racial. In 1969, Rhodesia took part in the Oceanic 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament. This was their first attempt to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. Contrary to the team being viewed as the representative team of white Rhodesians, the team was multi-racial including black players. They were drawn against the Australia national football team. Both legs were held in Lourenço Marques, Portuguese Mozambique as the Rhodesian team were unable to get Australian visas. Rhodesia drew the first leg 1–1 but lost the second leg 3–1 thus eliminating Rhodesia from qualification.

In 1980, following the country's reconstitution as Zimbabwe, they played their first FIFA World Cup qualifying match for 11 years against the Cameroon national football team. However they lost 2–1 on aggregate after a 1–0 win in the first leg in Salisbury and a 2–0 loss in the second leg. Following this, the country passed a law that people who held British passports would not be permitted to hold a Zimbabwean passport, which mean that players such as goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, who is considered to be Zimbabwe's greatest goalkeeper, were not selected for the national team for 10 years. Following a change in policy that allowed Grobbelaar to play for Zimbabwe, who entered the country on his British passport, Zimbabwe under manager Reinhard Fabisch were one match away from qualifying for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. However, they lost their final qualifying match to Cameroon.

In 2004, Zimbabwe qualified for their first Africa Cup of Nations. During their first match against Egypt, their former anthem "Ishe Komborera Africa" was accidentally played instead of "Simudzai Mureza wedu weZimbabwe", an act which Information Minister Jonathan Moyo called "a cheap attempt by the organisers to demoralise our boys".

In 2015, the Zimbabwe national football team were banned from participating in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying due to an unpaid debt to former coach, José Claudinei. At the time, the team was experiencing its strongest period for many years, qualifying for both the 2017 and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

On 1 March 2022, Zimbabwe, along with Kenya, was suspended again from international sport due to the interference of the government. Earlier in November 2021, Harare and Nairobi dissolved their federations and were replaced with government-officials. On 31 March, the suspension was made indefinitely and was ratified by FIFA. Suspension is set until Zimbabwe and Kenya meet the demands given by FIFA. The team has produced some of the finest footballers the likes of the legendary Peter Ndlovu who played for Zimbabwe 100 times. He featured in the English premier for Coventry City, Birmingham City, Sheffield United and Huddersfield. Peter Ndlovu is well remembered for the hatrick he scored at Anfield against Liverpool, Bruce Grobelaar former Liverpool Goalkeeper, Norman Mapeza former Galatasary defender, Benjan Mwaruwaru former Man city player. Knowledge Musona former Anderletch and Bundesliga player. Khama Billiat former Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs player.

Kit provider

Kit provider	Period
L-Sporto	2004–2005
Legea	2006–2009
Puma	2010–2012
Umbro	2013–2014
Joma	2015–2016
Mafro	2017–2018
Umbro	2019–2022
Puma	2023–present

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2023

Friendly 4 September	Zimbabwe	2–2 (5–4 pen)	Namibia	Harare, Zimbabwe
	Msebe  2' F. Banda  36'	https://www.newzimbabwe.com/warriors-make-winning-return-to-international-football-with-penalty-shootout-win-against-namibia/	Eliakim  30' Kambanda  68'	Stadium: National Sports Stadium
		Penalties
	{{{penalties1}}}		{{{penalties2}}}

Friendly 30 September	Botswana	1–1 (4–3 pen)	Zimbabwe	Gaborone, Botswana
16:00 UTC+2	Maswena  68'	https://globalsportsarchive.com/match/soccer/2023-09-30/botswana-vs-zimbabwe/3205193/	Chirinda  65'	Stadium: Botswana National Stadium
		Penalties
	{{{penalties1}}}		{{{penalties2}}}

2026 World Cup qualification 15 November	Rwanda	0–0	Zimbabwe	Butare, Rwanda
15:00 UTC+2		https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288282/288289/400017591		Stadium: Stade Huye Referee: Mohamed Ali Moussa (Niger)

2026 World Cup qualification 19 November	Zimbabwe	1–1	Nigeria	Butare, Rwanda
15:00 UTC+2	Musona  26'	https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288282/288289/400017592	Iheanacho  67'	Stadium: Stade Huye Attendance: 2,876 Referee: Souleiman Ahmed Djama (Djibouti)

2023

Friendly 23 March	Zambia	2–2 (5–6 pen)	Zimbabwe	Lilongwe, Malawi
		https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2024/03/23/world/friendlies/zambia/zimbabwe/4336613/		Stadium: Bingu National Stadium
		Penalties
	{{{penalties1}}}		{{{penalties2}}}

Friendly 26 March	Zimbabwe	1–3	Kenya	Lilongwe, Malawi
		https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2024/03/26/world/friendlies/kenya/zimbabwe/4343907/		Stadium: Bingu National Stadium

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Rwanda and Nigeria on 15 and 19 November 2023.

Caps and goals are correct as of 19 November 2023, after the match against Nigeria.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Donovan Bernard	(1995-07-12) 12 July 1995 (age 28)	3	0	Chicken Inn
16	1GK	Washington Arubi	(1985-08-29) 29 August 1985 (age 38)	30	0	SuperSport United
22	1GK	Martin Mapisa	(1998-05-25) 25 May 1998 (age 25)	2	0	Málaga City
3	2DF	Jordan Zemura	(1999-11-14) 14 November 1999 (age 24)	7	0	Udinese
4	2DF	Munashe Garananga	(2001-01-18) 18 January 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Mechelen
5	2DF	Frank Makarati	(1994-03-14) 14 March 1994 (age 30)	1	0	Dynamos
15	2DF	Teenage Hadebe	(1995-09-17) 17 September 1995 (age 28)	37	4	Houston Dynamo
19	2DF	Divine Lunga	(1995-05-28) 28 May 1995 (age 28)	20	0	Mamelodi Sundowns
21	2DF	Peter Muduhwa	(1993-08-11) 11 August 1993 (age 30)	14	0	Highlanders
23	2DF	Andrew Mbeba	(2000-02-19) 19 February 2000 (age 24)	6	0	Highlanders
20	2DF	Tivonge Rushesha	(2002-07-24) 24 July 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Reading
2	3MF	Gerald Takwara	(1994-10-29) 29 October 1994 (age 29)	16	0	Ohod
6	3MF	Brian Banda	(1995-09-09) 9 September 1995 (age 28)	7	0	Platinum
7	3MF	Tanaka Shandirwa	(1999-12-04) 4 December 1999 (age 24)	3	0	Dynamos
8	3MF	Marshall Munetsi	(1996-06-22) 22 June 1996 (age 27)	25	1	Stade de Reims
10	3MF	Andy Rinomhota	(1997-04-21) 21 April 1997 (age 27)	1	0	Cardiff City
18	3MF	Marvelous Nakamba	(1994-01-19) 19 January 1994 (age 30)	28	0	Luton Town
9	4FW	Terrence Dzvukamanja	(1994-05-05) 5 May 1994 (age 29)	16	0	SuperSport United
11	4FW	Tino Kadewere	(1996-01-05) 5 January 1996 (age 28)	24	3	Nantes
12	4FW	Walter Musona	(1995-12-12) 12 December 1995 (age 28)	6	1	Platinum
13	4FW	Obriel Chirinda	(1997-01-28) 28 January 1997 (age 27)	6	1	Bulawayo Chiefs
14	4FW	Prince Dube	(1997-02-17) 17 February 1997 (age 27)	16	7	Azam
17	4FW	Admiral Muskwe	(1998-08-21) 21 August 1998 (age 25)	7	1	Exeter City

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Zimbabwe in the last 12 months.

Records

Players in bold are still active with Zimbabwe.

Most appearances

Note: ^U indicates that a player's statistics are unverified.

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup										Qualification
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	F	A		Pld	W	D	L	F	A
1930 to 1962	Part of  United Kingdom									Part of  United Kingdom
as  Rhodesia										as  Rhodesia
1966	Did not enter									Did not enter
1970	Did not qualify from Asia/Oceania zone									3	0	2	1	2	4
1974	Did not enter									Did not enter
1978
as  Zimbabwe										as  Zimbabwe
1982	Did not qualify from African zone									2	1	0	1	1	2
1986										2	0	1	1	1	2
1990										4	0	1	3	1	10
1994										10	6	2	2	11	10
1998										8	2	2	4	10	10
2002										8	6	0	2	11	6
2006										12	5	3	4	17	16
2010										6	1	3	2	4	6
2014										6	0	2	4	4	9
2018	Expelled from qualifying competition									Expelled from qualifying competition
2022	Did not qualify from African zone									8	1	2	5	5	9
2026	To be determined									2	0	2	0	1	1
2030										To be determined
2034
Total	—	0/15	—	—	—	—	—	—		71	22	20	29	68	85

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record
Appearances: 5
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1957 to 1980	Not affiliated to CAF
1982 to 2002	Did not qualify
2004	Group stage	14th	3	1	0	2	6	8
2006		13th	3	1	0	2	2	5
2008 to 2015	Did not qualify
2017	Group stage	14th	3	0	1	2	4	8
2019		21st	3	0	1	2	1	6
2021		17th	3	1	0	2	3	4
2023	Disqualified due to FIFA suspension
2025	To be determined
2027
2029
2031
2033
2035
2037
Total	Group stage	5/41	15	3	2	10	16	31

African Nations Championship

African Nations Championship record
Appearances: 5
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2009	Group stage	6th	3	0	3	0	3	3
2011		11th	3	1	0	2	2	3
2014	Fourth place	4th	6	2	3	1	3	2
2016	Group stage	13th	3	0	1	2	1	3
2018	Did not qualify
2020	Group stage	16th	3	0	0	3	1	5
2022	Did not qualify
Total	Fourth place	5/7	18	3	7	8	10	16

African Games

COSAFA Cup

CECAFA Cup

Honours

• COSAFA Cup
  • Champions (6): 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2017, 2018
  • Runners-up (3): 1998, 2001, 2013
• CECAFA Cup
  • Champions (1): 1985
  • Runners-up (2): 1983, 1987
• Afro-Asian Games
  • Bronze Medal (1): 2003

• Four Nations Football Tournament
  • Runners-up (1): 2024

See also

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Zimbabue para niños