Zimbabwe turn to old guard in Benin clash

Fans of the Zimbabwe national team will hope that Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat can inspire the Warriors to victory they take on Benin in their 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Group C at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Thursday, 20 March.

Kick-off is at 6pm (CAT, GMT+2)

CURRENT FORM

Benin are currently joint-top in Group C alongside Rwanda and South Africa after accumulating seven points after four matches played.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, are bottom of Group C, with just two points to their name after four fixtures completed.

TEAM NEWS

Benin head coach Gernot Rohr named a 25-man squad for his side’s upcoming set of qualifiers, which includes three uncapped players in Brandon Agounon, Samadou Attidjikou and Candas Fiogbe.

Zimbabwe on the other hand, welcomed Musona back into the national team fold for the first time in three years. Alongside Billiat, The Warriors have opted for experience to carry them through their upcoming qualifiers.

WHAT WAS SAID

With Benin winning two of their last World Cup qualifiers, Rohr believes that his side should remain high up on the log.

“It is really a surprise that we, Rwanda and South Africa are the leaders after the four opening rounds of matches in this tough Group C,” Rohr said.

“We won our two last games in Abidjan and now we are going to play away (against Zimbabwe in Durban) and the next against South Africa in Abidjan on March 25.

“It may be a surprise but we are here (top of Group C) and we want to stay here and do even better.”

Reflecting on the upcoming game, Billiat expressed his gratitude at being called-up to the Zim national team again.

“I want to thank the nation and everyone supporting the national team for our call-up,” Billiat said.

“We have a lot of great players and we are given the opportunity to represent our nation so we are grateful. Now, it is about how we will apply ourselves to represent our nation.”

HEAD-TO-HEAD

This will be the first meeting between Zimbabwe and Benin.