The opening match of round three in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers will get underway on Wednesday evening when Namibia face off against Zimbabwe at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg.
Namibia were forced to move their home games to neighbouring South Africa after their stadiums in Windhoek were not passed as suitable for World Cup qualifiers by the Confederation of African Football.
Match preview
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One notable fact about this encounter is that despite both these nations bordering South Africa and having many citizens in the country, the match will be played behind closed doors at the request of Namibia.
After posting their best-ever run, reaching the last 16 before bowing out to Angola at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast earlier this year, Namibia's participation in the next edition is in serious jeopardy unless they can turn their form around.
Two rounds into qualifying, the Brave Warriors are rooted to the bottom of Group J and are currently one of only seven of the 36 participating nations yet to earn their first point in the competition.
Collin Benjamin's side kicked off their 2025 AFCON qualification campaign with a 1-0 away loss to Cameroon before suffering an against-the-odds defeat to Kenya in round two at this same venue back at the start of last month.
As a result, the Brave Warriors will need to avoid defeat in all of their remaining matches in this section to stand a chance of qualifying, and history suggests they may be able to start with a win here, given that they have beaten this opponent in six straight encounters prior to this one.
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Meanwhile, Zimbabwe have had a mixed return to international football since their ban imposed by FIFA was lifted last year, and they will enter this match seeking to avoid a fourth consecutive outing without a victory.
The Warriors' winless run includes a 2-0 loss to Kenya at the COSAFA Cup last year and back-to-back goalless draws, again against the Harambee Stars, and then to Cameroon, in the first two rounds of this competition.
Undoubtedly, the key area Michael Nees will need to address is his side's lack of attacking output, as they have yet to score a goal since his arrival and only netted twice in four rounds of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
However, one major advantage that the Warriors' new boss will have for the next two rounds of this competition will be that he has 10 players in his squad that have either previously played or currently apply their trade here in the South African PSL.
Team News
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Namibia have also called up several players who are currently based in South Africa for this month's qualifiers, including the likes of Orlando Pirates midfielder Deon Hotto, Sekhukhune United goalkeeper Lloydt Kazapua and Amazulu defender Riaan Hanamub.
Marumo Gallants' attacker Rewaldo Prins, who was previously excluded from the squad due to fitness concerns, has received a call-up alongside potential debutants Petrus Kamati and Tjahikika Mbakondja.
For Zimbabwe, skipper Marvelous Nakamba has returned to the national squad for this month's qualifiers after recovering from a knee injury and subsequent surgery which kept him sidelined for over six months.
PSL fans will be able to welcome a familiar face in Khama Billiat, who made his return from international retirement last month, back to South Africa this week, while Polokwane City attacker Douglas Mapfumo has been dropped.
Namibia possible starting lineup:
Maova; Katua, Hambira, Hanamub, Kamberipa; Petrus, Hotto, Tjiueza, Shidolo; Shalulile, Prins
Zimbabwe possible starting lineup:
Arubi; Galloway, Garananga, Hadebe, Zemura; Munetsi, Nakamba, Rinomhota, Musona; Billiat; Kadewere
We say: Namibia 1-1 Zimbabwe
Given that both these sides desperately need a win, and possibly view each other as the most likely route to three points, we could see them throw caution to the wind at points in this match.
However, while we do feel there could be at least a couple of goals forthcoming in this contest, we doubt there will be anything to split these sides at the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
