Zimbabwe’s 1-0 victory over Botswana means that the Warriors qualified for a third consecutive AFCON Finals and this time with a game to spare. The Warriors got their goal from Perfect Chikwende who managed to score after only fourteen minutes.
The victory gave the Zimbabwe Warriors 8 points and an unassailable lead over Botswana and Zambia who have 4 points each with only one game left. Group leaders Algeria have 11 points following their 3-3 draw with Zambia. Zambia needed to win against Algeria to keep their hopes of qualifying alive but only managed a stalemate.
Below are the Group H standings updated with the matches played on Thursday, 25 March 2021
Given that Algeria has an advantage of 3 points as well as a goal difference of +8 compared to Zimbabwe’s 0, it is highly unlikely that the Warriors will be able to overhaul the Desert Foxes for the top spot. The Warriors will likely qualify as group runners-up. Algeria are also the defending champions after winning the 2019 edition.
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021) will be hosted by Cameroun and will be the 33rd edition of Africa’s biennial flagship tournament.
The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in June and July 2021, but due to the unfavourable climatic conditions obtaining in West Africa during this period, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had shifted the date to between 9 January and 6 February 2021. However, due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, CAF was forced to move the dates again and the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations will, ironically, be held in January 2022.