Zimbabwe Warriors 2022 World Cup Qualifiers
In January 2020, Zimbabwe was drawn in Group G alongside South Africa, Ghana and Ethiopia for the 2022 World Cup group phase qualifiers.
Background
Zimbabwe's senior men's team also known as the Warriors, qualified for the group phase round of the qualifiers after beating Somalia 3-2 on aggregate in the first round of the qualifiers. Zimbabwe and Ethiopia are the only teams in Group G who had never qualified for the FIFA World Cup.
Only the group winners would advance to the final round of qualifying, where the 10 group winners would be drawn into five two-legged affairs to determine the five sides that would compete in Qatar.[1]
Coach's Dismissal
On 12 September 2021, ZIFA dismissed Croatian Zdravko Logarusic. Logarusic became the second coaching casualty of 2022 World Cup group-phase qualifying in Africa.
His exit followed that of Hossam el Badry, who was fired as coach of Egypt and replaced by former Real Madrid manager and Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz.
Logarusic and his assistants Lloyd Chitembwe, Tonderai Ndiraya and Benjani Mwaruwari, were blamed for the Warriors' poor start in Group G in the first round of matches with a 0-0 home draw against South Africa followed by a 1-0 away loss to Ethiopia, leaving them bottom of the table.[2][3]
Fixtures & Results
The 2022 World Cup qualifiers were scheduled to get underway in March 2020 which was the first international break in 2020. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the first round of qualifiers was played from Wednesday, 1 to Friday, 3 September 2021.
Fixtures
- 6 October 2021: Ghana vs Zimbabwe
- 10 October 2021: Zimbabwe vs Ghana
- 11 November 2021: South Africa vs Zimbabwe
- 14 November 2021: Zimbabwe vs Ethiopia
Results
- 3 September 2021: Zimbabwe 0-0 South Africa
- 7 September 2021: Ethiopia 1-0 Zimbabwe
Group G Standings
| Country | P | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Ghana | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Ethiopia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Zimbabwe | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
References
- ↑ 2022 World Cup: Zim drawn against SA, Ghana and Ethiopia, NewZimbabwe.com, Published: January 21, 2020, Retrieved: September 13, 2021
- ↑ Zimbabwe sack Logarusic after poor World Cup results, Super Sport, Published: September 12, 2021, Retrieved: September 13, 2021
- ↑ ZIFA Fires Logarusic, Pindula News, Published: September 12, 2021, Retrieved: September 13, 2021
