Zimbabwe Warriors Have Received A Friendly Match Invitation From Malta
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Zimbabwe’s national football team, the Warriors, has received an invitation from the Malta Football Association to play a friendly match in Malta in March. This friendly match will take place during the next FIFA international break. The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) is still considering the invitation and whether the team will travel to Malta.
Malta is a small island country located in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy) and east of Tunisia (North Africa). It is an archipelago consisting of three main islands: Malta, Gozo, and Comino.
The ZIFA normalisation committee, headed by Lincoln Mutasa, is currently in charge of the team and is working on appointing the next interim coach. The previous coach, Baltemar Brito from Portugal, completed his contract on December 31. It is speculated that Dynamos coach Genesis Mangombe may take over as the next interim coach. Mutasa told NewsDay:
We have decided to engage a local coach and we will come up with a decision in the next two weeks.
Due to the lack of a stadium that meets international standards in Zimbabwe, the Warriors had to play their previous matches against Rwanda and Nigeria in Rwanda. ZIFA, facing financial difficulties, has stated that the next national team coach will be selected from local coaches.
In the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Warriors are currently in fifth position in Group C with two points. Rwanda leads the group with four points after drawing with Zimbabwe and defeating South Africa. Bafana Bafana is in second place with a home win against Benin. Nigeria is in third place after drawing with Zimbabwe and Lesotho. Lesotho is in fourth place with draws against Benin and South Africa, while Benin is at the bottom of the standings with a draw and a defeat.
After the friendly match in Malta, the Warriors will resume their World Cup qualifiers campaign in June with a home match against Lesotho, followed by an away match against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.