Zimbabwe’s Africa Cup of Nations journey came to a painful end on Monday night after a narrow 3–2 defeat to South Africa in a dramatic Group B finale in Marrakech.
The Warriors showed courage, flair and fighting spirit, but crucial moments went against them as Bafana Bafana secured second place in the group to advance to the knockout stage behind Egypt. Zimbabwe finished fourth and were eliminated.
South Africa struck early, taking the lead inside seven minutes when Tshepang Moremi’s effort took a heavy deflection off Divine Lunga and looped beyond Washington Arubi.
Rather than fold, Zimbabwe responded superbly. Tawanda Maswanhise lit up the match with a moment of pure brilliance, weaving past defenders before rifling a stunning finish into the bottom corner – a goal that will live long in AFCON memory.
The second half resumed at a frantic pace and South Africa regained the advantage in the 50th minute, with Lyle Foster reacting quickest to a flicked header to beat Arubi and nod home.
Zimbabwe again refused to surrender. A triple substitution injected fresh energy and their pressure was rewarded when a save from Ronwen Williams rebounded off defender Aubrey Modiba and into the net, levelling the score in dramatic fashion.
The decisive moment arrived late on when VAR intervened to penalise captain Marvelous Nakamba for handball inside the box. Oswin Appollis converted the resulting penalty, ending Zimbabwe’s hopes in heartbreaking fashion.
Despite the result, the Warriors left the tournament with heads held high. They pushed one of Africa’s strongest sides to the limit, played with attacking bravery and never retreated into survival mode, even when trailing.
Maswanhise was outstanding with his pace and directness, while Nakamba battled relentlessly in midfield. However, defensive lapses and fine margins ultimately proved costly, compounded by the absence of injured talisman Knowledge Musona.
For South Africa, the win sets up a Round of 16 clash against the Group F runners-up in Rabat. For Zimbabwe, the focus now turns to lessons learned and building on the promise shown under coach Marian Marinica, as the long wait to progress beyond the AFCON group stage continues.