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JOHANNESBURG: Zimbabwe will play at home for the first time in five years when they host the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday in a top-of-the-table Africa Cup of Nations group qualifier.<\/p>\n
Major renovations to the 60,000-seat National Sports Stadium on the outskirts of the capital, Harare, forced the Warriors to host matches outside the country, often in South Africa.<\/p>\n
While Zimbabwe can relish finally performing in front of their supporters again, 13 of the 48 teams competing in 2027 AFCON qualifiers are \u2018homeless\u2019.<\/p>\n
A civil war prevents Sudan playing in Khartoum and security concerns mean Somalia cannot host opponents in Mogadishu.<\/p>\n
The other 11 countries, including 2022 AFCON champions Senegal, currently lack stadiums that meet international standards.<\/p>\n
For Zimbabwe, the timing of their return home is perfect as they face 2026 World Cup qualifiers DR Congo in an optimistic mood.<\/p>\n
They staged the most dramatic comeback of the 24 matchday one fixtures last week by overcoming a two-goal deficit to snatch a 3-2 away win over Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n
Marshall Munetsi, a 30-year-old midfielder with English second-tier club Wolverhampton Wanderers, triggered the recovery with a 72nd-minute goal.<\/p>\n
Wolves teammate Tawanda Chirewa equalized four minutes later, then Munetsi struck again with two minutes of regular time remaining to secure maximum points.<\/p>\n
It was a dream competitive debut for Ramon Catala, a 65-year-old Spaniard whose coaching career includes stints in the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Ukraine and Libya.<\/p>\n
While Zimbabwe clawed back from a looming loss in Group E, DR Congo cruised to a 2-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea in Kinshasa under French coach Sebastien Desabre.<\/p>\n
Captain and center-back Chancel Mbemba nodded the Congolese in front within four minutes and Newcastle United striker Yoane Wissa added a second goal after half-time.<\/p>\n
Transformed<\/strong><\/p>\n Long considered one of the underachieving national teams in Africa, the Leopards have been transformed under Desabre into a well-drilled, combative unit.<\/p>\n He took them to the 2026 World Cup after a 52-year absence, and they led England for 68 minutes of a last-32 clash before a Harry Kane brace turned the tables.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Guinea-Bissau host three-time AFCON champions Nigeria on Tuesday in the only other matchday two fixture featuring two teams who won their first qualifiers.<\/p>\n While a Nigerian victory over visiting Madagascar in Group L was expected, Guinea-Bissau winning away to 2027 AFCON co-hosts Tanzania was not.<\/p>\n After decades among the minnows, Guinea-Bissau underwent a dramatic turnaround, qualifying for four consecutive AFCON tournaments from 2017.<\/p>\n But the west Africans missed out on the most recent AFCON in Morocco and won just two of 10 qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n As Guinea-Bissau slumped, Tanzania rose, reaching an AFCON knockout stage for the first time this year under Argentine coach Miguel Gamondi and restricting hosts Morocco to a 1-0 win.<\/p>\n So a 2-0 victory for Guinea-Bissau in Zanzibar City through goals from Franculino Dju and Mama Balde stunned Tanzania, the 2027 co-hosts with Kenya and Uganda.<\/p>\n All three co-hosts are following an AFCON tradition of playing qualifiers to gain competitive match practice, rather than being restricted to friendlies.<\/p>\n Lacking injured star striker Victor Osimhen, Nigeria had to come from behind to edge Madagascar 2-1 in Uyo with debutants George Ilenikhena and Moses Usor scoring.<\/p>\n With Tanzania assured of a qualifying place, only one of Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar can join them at the finals, adding to the importance of the Bissau showdown.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n