Zimbabwe face Algeria, Qatar in AFCON warm ups

Zimbabwe football team will play friendlies against Algeria and Qatar early November ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals.

The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) president Nqobile Magwizic confirms that the Warriors will play the friendlies in the upcoming FIFA window. Specific dates of the matches are yet to be announced.

“We want fixtures that truly test our mettle. Algeria and Qatar represent that caliber of opposition we must face to measure our readiness for AFCON, and the choice of these friendlies was deliberate,” he said.

ZIFA announced the friendlies on Thursday, a day after sacking the then Warriors’ coach Michael Nees for underperformance particularly in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The German registered one win in 16 games across all competitions during his one-year reign.

Who will take charge of Zimbabwe after Nees’ sacking?

Former SuperSport United handler Kaitano Tembo is set to take charge of the Warriors in an interim capacity while the hunt for a permanent coach begins in earnest.

Time is not on the side of ZIFA to hire a substantive coach two months before the AFCON finals kick off in Morocco. The Warriors were drawn in a tough Group B comprising rivals South Africa, Angola and record-champions Egypt at the AFCON finals.