On Tuesday, Zimbabwe will meet Namibia for the second time in as many days. The Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group J match will once again take place at the Johannesburg Stadium.
Due to stadium fitness concerns in their respective countries, both teams have been obliged to play their home games in South Africa. However, unlike the rematch, spectators will be permitted entry, which will greatly benefit the home team.
Khama Billiat's penalty in the first half gave the Zimbabwean team a tight 1-0 victory last Thursday. They will now want to improve on that outcome in order to keep their undefeated AFCON qualification record and increase their prospects of making it to the tournament for the sixth time.
After suffering following their FIFA ban, the hosts' unblemished start to the qualifiers—two draws and a win—indicates that they are starting to recover their form. The victory in the rematch also marked their first victory against Namibia since 2008.
The Warriors' scoring performance has been lackluster, and they have only scored one goal in the competition thus far—the Billiat penalty that clinched the victory against Namibia on Thursday—despite their undefeated record in Group J.
The hosts hope to take advantage of the support and duplicate their away victory in this rematch, thus having a sizable Zimbabwean fan base in South Africa may be crucial.
Namibia, on the other hand, is having a difficult time in these qualifiers; they have lost all three of their games and are currently at the bottom of the group with nil points.
The Brave Warriors' recent performance has been concerning; they have already dropped four straight games in all competitions, and their slim loss to Zimbabwe has made matters worse and left their chances of qualifying for the AFCON in shambles.
Their seven-match winning streak earlier this year, which includes impressive results in both World Cup qualifiers and the COSAFA Cup in the run-up to the AFCON qualifiers, is a long cry from this dismal run.
The visiting team's past performance against the hosts—they have won five of their nine meetings—is one advantage, and if they want to obtain a victory, they will need to put on a show worthy of that reputation.
