Zimbabwe National Football Team

Team Image

Colours

The Warriors are famous for their distinct gold and green paraphernalia which are adopted from the county's national flag colours.

Kit Manufacturer

The current kit manufacturer for the Warriors is Umbro and it was after they had parted ways with Mafro who used to provide them with their kit.Mafro Sports

Homegrounds

The team usually uses Rufaro Stadium, in Harare, Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo and the National Sports Stadium in Harare as its home grounds in international matches.

History of Team

The team that is now called the Warriors evolved from a team dominated by white players during the colonial period in the then Rhodesia. The team was initially dominated by players from urban clubs such as Darryn T, Salisbury Callies, Salisbury City, Salisbury United and Acadia United. The Rhodesian national soccer team had not done much in terms of racial integration save for the occasional inclusion of a token black player such as George Shaya. The growth of Highlanders Football Club which was formed in 1926 and the formation of Dynamos Football Club in 1963 resulted in more black Zimbabweans beginning to make an impact in local football. The team was eventually renamed to Zimbabwe National Soccer Team in 1980 after the country had attained its independence.^[1] In the post independence era, the team was once known as the The Dream Team under the guidance of the now late German coach Reinhard Fabisch. The team comprised legends of Zimbabwe's football history such Peter Ndlovu, Rahman Gumbo, Henry McKop, Bruce Grobbelaar, the late Adam Ndlovu, the late Benjamin Nkonjera, Agent Sawu, Vitalis Takawira, Norman Mapeza, the late Francis Shonhayi just to mention a few. The Dream Team was ranked number 40 in the FIFA World Rankings, the highest the national team has achieved to date.

Coaching Staff

Current Coach

• Zdravko Logarusic

Previous Coaches

• Joey Antipas
• Callisto Pasuwa
• Norman Mapeza (Interim)
• 2013-2014: Ian Gorowa
• 2012- 2013: Klaus Deiter Pagels
• 2011-2012: Rahman Gumbo
• January 2008-Novemeber 2008: Jose Valinhos
• 2007-2007: Charles Mhlauri
• 2003-2007: Sunday Chidzambwa
• 2001 : Wieslaw Grabowski
• 1998-2000: Clemence Westerhof
• 1997: Ian Potterfield
• 1995: Gibson Homela
• 1992-1995: Reinhard Fabisch
• 1988 -1992 Ben Kouffie

Current Squad

This is Zimbabwe's current Warriors squad:^[2]

Goalkeepers

• Nelson Chadya (Ngezi Platinum F.C.)
• Talbert Shumba (Triangle United Football Club)
• Elvis Chipezeze (Baroka FC)
• Edmore Sibanda
• Tatenda Mukuruva

Defenders

• Teenage Hadebe
• Alec Mudimu (Sheriff Tiraspol)
• Onismor Bhasera (Supersport United)
• Tendayi Darikwa (Nottingham Forest)
• Bruce Kangwa (Azam)

Midfielders

• Danny Phiri (Golden Arrows)
• King Nadolo (Dynamos Football Club)
• Khama Billiat (Kaizer Chiefs)
• Kudakwashe Mahachi (Golden Arrows)
• Marvelous Nakamba (Aston Villa)
• Tinitenda Philana Kadewere (Djuargardens)
• Never Tigere (Azam)

Strikers

• Tino Kadewere (Olympique Lyon)
• Evans Rusike (Supersport United)
• Knowledge Musona (KAS Eupen)
• Evans Katema (Zanaco)
• Prince Dube (Azam)

Achievements

COSAFA Cup :

• 6-time champions (2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2017 and 2018)
• 3-time runners-up

CECAFA Cup :

• 1-time champion (1985)
• 2-time runners-up (1983, 1987)

Successes

Being an independent state in 1980 Zimbabwe beat Mozambique 6-0 in its first game. Its biggest win was in 1990 when it thumbed Botswana 7-0.^[1] Among achievements of the Zimbabwe national football team is the CAF African Nations Cup, where the team played in the finals on four occassions. First was in 2004 when it qualified under the leadership of Sunday Chidzambwa, 2006 under Charles Mhlauri, 2017 under Callisto Pasuwa and in 2019 under Sunday Chidzambwa. The team has also won the COSAFA Castle cup for a record 6 times now. It won the cup in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2017 and 2018.^[3] Zimbabwe is thus one of the countries with the highest number of COSAFA titles and it has overtaken the Zambia which has five titles to its name. The Zimbabwe Warriors also qualified for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in June 2016 after beating Malawi 3-0 at a match played at the National Sports Stadium.^[4]

Failures

The Southern Rhodesia national football team made its debut in 1950 when they were defeated by Australia 0-5. Zimbabwe has never made it possible to qualify for the World Cup finals and twice it failed to progress beyond the first round of their two participations in the African Cup of Nations in 2004 and 2006.^[1] In 2015, the Zimbabwe national team was expelled from the 2018 world cup qualifier matches after it was reported to FIFA for failing to pay its previous coach Valinhos his USD$60 000 allowance.^[5]

Some Outstanding Players

The Warriors produced some players who made an impact on the international football arena. These include Peter Ndlovu who played for Coventry City in his prime and later Birmingham City before playing for Sheffield United in the English Premier League, Benjani Mwaruwari who played for Manchester City and Portsmouth, Khama Billiat who won the South African 2016 Soccer Star of the Year Award playing for Mamelodi Sundowns and now playing for Kaizer Chiefs, Knowledge Musona now at Belgian side KAS Eupen, Esrom Nyandoro, Moses Chunga, Bruce Grobbelaar, Norman Mapeza, George Shaya, Rahman Gumbo among others.

Videos

References