Zimbabwe Warriors are seeking to extend their record at the forthcoming COSAFA Cup to be staged in Durban, South Africa.
The Warriors are record six-time champions in the COSAFA Cup and one of the region’s powerhouses.
Their last triumph came in 2018 when they beat old foes Zambia 4-2 in a thrilling decider that went to extra-time in Polokwane.
It had followed a 3-1 success over the same opposition in the previous year’s final, keeping up the rivalry between the two in the COSAFA competition.
That really started when Zimbabwe won the 2009 trophy by beating Zambia 3-1 in the final, but then lost to Chipolopolo four years later in Ndola as the Zambians claimed a 2-0 final success.
Prior to that, they were victorious in 2005 in Mmabatho, again beating Zambia in the final.
In 2003, they easily beat Malawi in the decider, winning both legs for a 4-1 aggregate triumph.
Their success in 2000 in the final against Lesotho ended a long spell of poor luck for the nearly-men of African soccer, who for more than two decades have consistently narrowly failed to qualify for both the World Cup and African Nations Cup finals.
PROFILE ZIMBABWE
Established: 1965
Affiliated to FIFA: 1965
Affiliated to CAF: 1980
Honours: 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2017, 2018 COSAFA Cup winners;
1985 East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup
Biggest win: Botswana 0–7 Zimbabwe (26 August 1990)
Biggest defeat: South Africa 7–0 Rhodesia (9 April 1977)
Biggest win in COSAFA Cup: Zimbabwe 6-0 Seychelles (30 June 2017)
Biggest defeat in COSAFA Cup: Zimbabwe 1-4 Namibia (21 May 2015)
Leading scorer in the COSAFA Cup: Peter Ndlovu 7 goals
