Polokwane City star gets maiden Warriors call-up, to face Bafana
A Polokwane City star has received his maiden Zimbabwe Warriors call-up ahead of the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Bafana Bafana.
On Wednesday, interim Zimbabwe coach Jairos Tapera named a 23-men squad to do duty for the country in the qualifiers. Mamelodi Sundowns defender Divine Lunga retained his place in the Warriors squad.
The likes of Terrence Dzvukamanja, Ronald Pfumbidzai who are plying their trade for SuperSport United were overlooked. Zimbabwe is set to take on Bafana Bafana in Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The match is slated for the Free State stadium in Bloemfontein on the 11th of June. Before this one, Zimbabwe date Lesotho in a match to be played at the Orlando Stadium.
On the other hand, Hugo Broos and his men will first deal with an away fixture against the Super Eagles of Nigeria. But how they will fare in the Southern Africa derby remains to be seen though with Broos’ men tipped to win.
POLOKWANE CITY’S DOUGLAS MAPFUMO GETS HIS MAIDEN CALL-UP
Their last meeting back in November 2021 ended 1-0 in Bafana Bafana’s favour. But Zimbabwe will hope to make a statement this time around. Therefore, they have included Polokwane City striker Douglas Mapfumo in the team.
Mapfumo was one of the decent performers for Polokwane City in the just-ended DStv Premiership season. He played a vital role as they maintained their DStv Premiership slot.
The 24-year-old contributed five goals during the just-ended season across all competitions. As such, he is expected to help Zimbabwe get a positive result despite a shambolic build-up, moreso, that they are playing their home games outside Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, Broos is set to announce his final squad from the 36-member preliminary squad on Thursday. Bafana are bidding to return to the World Cup for the first time since 2010 when they hosted the tournament.
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