Zimbabwe and DR Congo battle for early lead in AFCON 2027 Group E qualifying

Background

Zimbabwe and DR Congo met in Group E of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers on Matchday 2, played at the National Sports Stadium in Harare. Both teams had won their opening qualifiers, making the fixture a meeting between the group's two early leaders, according to beIN SPORTS.

Road to the match

Zimbabwe produced a dramatic comeback in its opener, beating Sierra Leone 3-2 despite trailing 0-2 at halftime after goals from Alie Conteh and Sallieu Tarawallie. Marshall Munetsi turned the game around, scoring in the 72nd minute and again in the 88th, sandwiched around Tawanda Chirewa's equalizer in the 76th minute.

DR Congo, meanwhile, won 2-0 away to Equatorial Guinea in Kinshasa. Chancel Mbemba headed the Leopards ahead in just the 4th minute from an Arthur Masuaku corner, before Yoane Wissa doubled the lead in the 72nd minute.

Match statistics

According to figures compiled by the BBC, DR Congo dominated possession, holding the ball 61.9% of the time to Zimbabwe's 38.1%. Both sides registered 4 shots each, though Zimbabwe was more accurate with 2 shots on target compared to DR Congo's 1. DR Congo had more touches inside the opposition box (13 to 10) and made more goalkeeper saves (2 to 0). Zimbabwe, however, committed far fewer fouls (2 to 8) and won a higher percentage of tackles (66.7% to 50%). DR Congo completed passes more accurately (86.4% to 83.5%) and attempted significantly more of them overall (206 to 127). None of the sources report the match's final score.

What's next

Group E also includes Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone, who played each other on the same day. Since the group contains none of the automatically qualified host nations, only the top two teams after six matchdays will secure direct qualification for AFCON 2027.