DR Congo beat Zimbabwe by two goals to one in Harare on 28 September, as the Warriors played at home for the first time in nearly five years.
Yoane Wissa and Samuel Moutoussamy scored for DR Congo at the National Sports Stadium. Marshall Munetsi pulled a goal back for Zimbabwe in added time.
Back at the National Sports Stadium
The 60,000 seat ground was deemed unsuitable for international matches and underwent renovations, and Zimbabwe went nearly five years without a home international. It has since been cleared to host internationals again.
Where Group E stands
DR Congo lead Group E on six points from two matches. Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea have three each and Sierra Leone have none. DR Congo opened their campaign by beating Equatorial Guinea by two goals to nil, through Chancel Mbemba and Wissa.
On matchday one Zimbabwe came from two goals down to beat Sierra Leone by three goals to two, Munetsi scoring twice and Tawanda Chirewa once.
What the group is worth
CAF put 48 teams, including the three co-hosts, into 12 groups of four. The top two in each group reach the finals, except in the groups containing Kenya, Tanzania or Uganda, where only the highest ranked team outside the host country qualifies, because the host nation is already guaranteed a place. Group E has no host in it, so it carries two places. In all, 24 teams are expected at the finals.
Each side plays six matches, home and away. Matchdays three and four fall in the window of 9 to 17 November 2026, and the finals run from 19 June to 17 July 2027.
More from this market is on the Zimbabwe sports news section.

