Reviewed by Praise Dumi DhlakamaZimbabwe sports betting writer
Published 22 September 2026 · Updated 25 September 2026
Tino Kadewere and Prince Dube have both withdrawn injured from the Warriors squad for the AFCON 2027 qualifiers, and Ramon Catala has called up Washington Navaya and Leeroy Mavunga in their place.
Both forwards picked up their injuries playing for their clubs. ZIFA later named the Liverpool defender Isaac Mabaya as a third player ruled out through injury. That leaves Zimbabwe without two of the attacking options the coach named when he announced his first squad earlier this month, and it leaves them short in the same area of the pitch.
Zimbabwe are in Group E. They played Sierra Leone on 24 September and then host the Democratic Republic of Congo at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on 28 September. The Sierra Leone match was staged at the Stade El Abdi in El Jadida, Morocco, rather than in either country, and Zimbabwe won it by three goals to two after trailing by two goals at half time.
The two replacements
Washington Navaya plays his club football for Hardrock and Leeroy Mavunga for Dynamos.
Catala has gone for the players available rather than for a settled plan, which is the only honest answer this late in a window.
Why Harare matters more than El Jadida
The National Sports Stadium was cleared by CAF to stage internationals again after renovation work, so the DR Congo fixture is the one of the two that Zimbabwe will play in front of their own crowd. Zimbabwe took three points from the first of those two matches.
A match in a neutral stadium takes the home advantage away from both sides. The Harare match four days later is the one the injuries hurt most.
Where to bet: AFCON qualifying is priced by Premier Bet and Betway, both operating under the Lotteries and Gaming Board, on match result, both teams to score, over and under and correct score, with stakes in United States dollars and deposits through EcoCash and OneMoney. Late squad changes move a price more in a thin market than in a deep one, so a Warriors line set before these withdrawals may not have caught up. Compare the two books before you stake. Our guide to the best betting sites in Zimbabwe covers licensing and payout times, and there is more in Zimbabwe soccer news from AXN Sports. 18+. Gamble responsibly.
