Zimbabwe excited to end five-year wait for home return against DRC

The last game the Zim Warriors played at home was against Ethiopia in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers on the 14th of November 2021. 

Failure to meet CAF and FIFA stadium standards meant that the Warriors played their home matches mainly in South Africa. 

For captain Marvelous Nakamba, this is a special moment.

"It will be very important and also us as players, we have spoken about it, the guys in the camp are very happy, excited to play in front of our home fans and I think also they'll play a huge part,” Nakamba said.

“The way they are passionate will be good for us as a team and it's good to play in front of our fans. We are really happy and we appreciate the work that has been done for us to play in front of our home fans."

READ: Mdaka preaches consistency as Amajita successfully defend COSAFA U20 crown

Zimbabwe kicked off their 2027 AFCON qualification campaign on a positive note, coming back from 2-0 down to beat Sierra Leone 3-2 in Morocco last Thursday. Nakamba reflects on that result and the importance of getting maximum points at home today against DRC.

"Difficult first half but I think as a team we believe in ourselves and also with the philosophy that's what we wanted to do even in the first half, we couldn't manage to score but we stayed in the game,” he added.

“We had faith, we believed at half time, everyone was not so panicking and the coach also kept on encouraging the team to stick to our plan and believe and fight for the country. 

“It's the same also with the next match against DRC Congo, especially at home, with our fans behind us we just need to keep on believing and have faith."

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the strongest teams in Africa today, and they were one of the 10 continental representatives at the recent 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

Ranked 41st globally, DRC started the qualifiers on a high as favourites to win Group E, beating Equatorial Guinea 2-0 in Kinshasa last Thursday. 

But away matches are not easy on the continent, and the Leopards’ head coach Sebastian Desabre anticipates a tough game against the hosts.