Warriors discover Afcon fate

Following their disappointing exit from the Cosafa tournament, Zimbabwe's Warriors will discover their next opponents as the draw for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is set to be conducted by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) in South Africa today. After missing the previous qualifiers due to a FIFA ban, Zimbabwe returns to the draw, part of the 48 nations in the hat to determine the path to the continental showcase in Morocco.

Zimbabwe, seeded in pot four after slipping to 38th in the African rankings, faces the risk of a tough draw as they will face teams from higher-ranked pots. The 48 nations will be drawn into 12 groups of four, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the finals.

The first two qualification games will occur during the FIFA window of September 2-10, with subsequent matches in October and November.

Caf secretary-general Veron Mosengo-Omba mentioned that scheduling the 2025 finals is challenging due to the clash with FIFA's inaugural 32-team Club World Cup. Thus, the finals could potentially be played in early 2026.

Hosts Ivory Coast, who won the 2023 Afcon tournament held in January and February this year, beat Nigeria 2-1 in the final in Abidjan.