Afcon Preview Angola, Zimbabwe Set For Southern African Derby Tussle

Angola will be determined to secure the Southern African Derby bragging rights when they face Zimbabwe in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations AFCON fixture on Friday. Kick-off is at 2:30 pm CAT. The matchday two Group D encounter is set to take place at the Marrakesh Stadium in Marrakesh, which is the fourth-largest city in Morocco and the capital of the Marrakesh-Safi region. Palancas Negras started their AFCON campaign with a 2-1 defeat to their Southern African rivals, South Africa, on December 22 and the loss ended their two-match unbeaten run across all competitions. Angola are placed third in the Group D standings and a victory over Zimbabwe would see Palancas Negras boost their ambitions of progressing to the Round of 16. We lost one game today, but the atmosphere in the dressing room is positive because we respected the plan, Angola head coach Patrice Beaumelle said after his sides defeat to South Africa. We made a lot of mistakes, and when you make mistakes against a team like this, its difficult. We need to correct that and be more effective against Zimbabwe to collect points. We are still in the competition. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe also began their AFCON campaign with a 2-1 loss to Egypt on December 22 and it was their second defeat in their last three matches across all competitions. The Warriors are placed fourth in the Group D standings and a victory over Angola would see Zimbabwe enhance their chances of advancing to the knockout phase. I believe in my players. I believe that the players we put on the pitch could have won, Zimbabwe head coachMarian Marinica said after his sides defeat to Egypt. But it is what it is. It is just one match, and we are very proud of what we have done. Now, we have to move on and get four points from the next two matches against Angola and South Africa. Angola and Zimbabwe have met 19 times across all competitions since their maiden meeting in November 1985. The two teams have recorded eight wins each, while three matches ended in a draw. The last meeting between the two Southern African nations ended in a 2-2 draw in an international friendly Four Nations Tournament match at theLevy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia, in March 2018.