Zimbabwe has been drawn in Group J of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers alongside Cameroon, Namibia and Kenya.
The draw was conducted in Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday.
The qualifiers are scheduled to kick off in September 2024.
The Warriors have been drawn into what many consider a challenging group given that one of their group opponents is Cameroon, who are widely regarded as a footballing powerhouse on the African continent.
Adding to the difficulty of the Warriors’ group is the recent record of the Harambee Stars of Kenya, who have managed to defeat the Warriors twice this year.
The first of these victories came at the Four Nations tournament held in Malawi in March, while the second was registered during the 2024 COSAFA Cup tournament currently taking place in South Africa.
Here is the full draw:
Group A: Tunisia, Madagascar, Comoros, Gambia.
Group B: Morocco, Gabon, Central Africa Republic, Lesotho.
Group C: Egypt, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Botswana.
Group D: Nigeria, Benin, Libya, Rwanda.
Group E: Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Togo, Liberia.
Group F: Ghana, Angola, Sudan, Niger.
Group G: Ivory Coast, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Chad.
Group H: DRC, Guinea, Tanzania, Ethiopia.
Group I: Mali, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Eswatini.
Group J: Cameroon, Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe:
Group K: South Africa, Uganda, Congo, South Sudan.
Group L: Senegal, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Burundi.
Who will qualify?
According to Soccer24, the group winners and first runners-up in the eleven groups that do not involve tournament hosts Morocco will qualify for the competition.
For teams that finish first and second in a group consisting of Morocco, who by being tournament hosts gain automatic qualification, the following scenarios will be applied:
- If the host is ranked first, the host is qualified in addition to the second of the group.
- If the host is ranked second, the host will qualify in addition to the first of the group.
- If the host is ranked third or fourth, the host will qualify in addition to the first of the group.
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