A completely crazy script
Trailing 2-0 at the break, Zimbabwe’s Warriors produced one of the finest turnarounds of this opening round of 2027 AFCON qualifiers. Final score: 3-2 to Zimbabwe, on Thursday, against Sierra Leone.
The first half, though, belonged entirely to the Leone Stars. Alie Conteh struck in the 7th minute, then Sallieu Tarawallie made it 2-0 in the 27th. A dream start, and it looked like Sierra Leone were cruising in Group E.
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Munetsi sparks the comeback
The restart changed everything. Marshall Munetsi, the captain and midfielder who came through in Ligue 1 before joining Nottingham Forest, pulled one back with a header in the 72nd minute. Five minutes later, Tawanda Chirewa levelled it. From there, the game swung hard in the Warriors’ favour, fuelled by the sudden momentum.
Munetsi was not done there. With a brace to his name, he netted the winner in the 89th minute, in the dying minutes of a wildly unpredictable contest. It was a standout individual display and a reminder of how central the Zimbabwe captain has been for his country for several seasons.
Three valuable points for the road ahead
This win immediately puts Zimbabwe in a strong position in Group E, which also includes DR Congo, who beat Equatorial Guinea on the same day. For Sierra Leone, the pain is obvious: to control a game for 45 minutes and walk away with nothing says plenty about a side still finding its feet. The 2027 AFCON hosts in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will not have been complaining about a finish like that on day one.
Zimbabwe have not played at the AFCON since 2021, when they last appeared in Egypt. That is a gap they will be desperate to close, with the Warriors driven by a generation largely developed in Europe, from England to France and now Ligue 1 for their captain. This hard-earned victory could well be the start of a qualifying run with real ambition for a team that has spent too long in the shadow of Africa’s bigger names.
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