thumb|2009 Image of Zimbabwe national football team

The Zimbabwe national football team (nicknamed The Warriors) represents Zimbabwe in men's international football and is controlled by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), formerly known as the Football Association of Rhodesia. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals, but has qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations six times. Zimbabwe has also won the COSAFA Cup six times. The team represents both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

History

Zimbabwe played their first official match against the England Amateur national football team as part of the latter's tour of South Africa and Rhodesia in June 1929. Zimbabwe lost their first two matches against England 4–0 and 6–1, respectively. In 1965, following Southern Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence as Rhodesia, FIFA requested that the Football Association of Rhodesia reform to be a multi-racial organisation. Prior to this, only white Rhodesians were selected for the national football team but after 1965 the team became multi-racial. In 1969, Rhodesia took part in the Oceanic 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament. This was their first attempt to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. Contrary to the team being viewed as the representative team of white Rhodesians, the team was multi-racial including black players.

In 1980, following the country's reconstitution as Zimbabwe, they played their first FIFA World Cup qualifying match for 11 years against the Cameroon national football team. However they lost 2–1 on aggregate after a 1–0 win in the first leg in Salisbury and a 2–0 loss in the second leg. Following this, the country passed a law that people who held British passports would not be permitted to hold a Zimbabwean passport, which mean that players such as goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, who is considered to be Zimbabwe's greatest goalkeeper,were not selected for the national team for 10 years. Following a change in policy that allowed Grobbelaar to play for Zimbabwe, who entered the country on his British passport, Zimbabwe under manager Reinhard Fabisch were one match away from qualifying for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. However, they lost their final qualifying match to Cameroon.

In 2004, Zimbabwe qualified for their first Africa Cup of Nations. During their first match against Egypt, their former anthem "Ishe Komborera Africa" was accidentally played instead of "Simudzai Mureza wedu weZimbabwe", an act which Information Minister Jonathan Moyo called "a cheap attempt by the organisers to demoralise our boys".

In 2015, the Zimbabwe national football team were banned from participating in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying due to an unpaid debt to former coach, José Claudinei. At the time, the team was experiencing its strongest period for many years, qualifying for both the 2017 and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

On 1 March 2022, Zimbabwe, along with Kenya, was suspended again from international sport due to the interference of the government. Earlier in November 2021, Harare and Nairobi dissolved their federations and were replaced with government-officials. On 31 March, the suspension was made indefinitely and was ratified by FIFA. Suspension is set until Zimbabwe and Kenya meet the demands given by FIFA. The team has produced some of the finest footballers the likes of the legendary Peter Ndlovu who played for Zimbabwe 100 times. He featured in the English premier for Coventry City, Birmingham City, Sheffield United and Huddersfield. Peter Ndlovu is well remembered for the hatrick he scored at Anfield against Liverpool, Bruce Grobelaar former Liverpool Goalkeeper, Norman Mapeza former Galatasary defender, Benjan Mwaruwaru former Man city player. Knowledge Musona former Anderletch and Bundesliga player. Khama Billiat former Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs player.

Kit provider

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!Kit provider

!Period

|-

| L-Sporto

|2004–2005

|-

| Legea

|2006–2009

|-

| Puma

|2010–2012

|-

| Umbro

|2013–2014

|-

| Joma

|2015–2016

|-

| Mafro

|2017–2018

|-

| Umbro

|2019–2022

|-

| Puma

|2023–2025

|-

|}

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2025

2026

Coaching history

thumb|100px|[[Bruce Grobbelaar played for Zimbabwe and managed Zimbabwe]]

:Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

  • Danny McLennan (1965–1969)
  • Bill Asprey (1975–1977)
  • John Rugg (1980–1981)
  • Shepherd Murape (1981–1983)
  • Mick Poole (1985)
  • Ben Koufie (1988–1992)
  • Reinhard Fabisch (1992–1995)
  • Rudi Gutendorf (1995–1996)
  • Bruce Grobbelaar (1996)
  • Ian Porterfield (1996–1997)
  • Sunday Chidzambwa (1997)
  • Bruce Grobbelaar (1997)
  • Roy Barreto (1997–1998)
  • Bruce Grobbelaar (1998)
  • Clemens Westerhof (1998–2000)
  • Misheck Chidzambwa (2000)
  • Sunday Chidzambwa (2000–2002)
  • Wiesław Grabowski (2002)
  • Sunday Chidzambwa (2003–2004)
  • Rahman Gumbo (2004)
  • Charles Mhlauri (2004–2007)
  • Sunday Chidzambwa (2007)
  • Norman Mapeza (2007)
  • Luke Masomore (2007–2008)
  • José Claudinei (2008)
  • Sunday Chidzambwa (2008–2009)
  • Norman Mapeza (2009–2010)
  • Tom Saintfiet (2010)
  • Madinda Ndlovu (2010–2011)
  • Norman Mapeza (2011–2012)
  • Rahman Gumbo (2012)
  • Klaus Dieter Pagels (2012–2013)
  • Ian Gorowa (2013–2014)
  • Callisto Pasuwa (2015–2017)
  • Wilson Mutekede (2017)
  • Sunday Chidzambwa (2017–2019)
  • Joey Antipas (2019–2020)
  • Zdravko Logarušić (2020–2021)
  • Norman Mapeza (2021–2022)
  • Wilson Mutekede (2022)
  • Shepherd Murape (2022–2023)
  • Sunday Chidzambwa (2023)
  • Baltemar Brito (2023–2024)
  • Norman Mapeza (2024)
  • Jairos Tapera (2024)
  • Michael Nees (2024–2025)
  • Mario Marinică (2025–2026)
  • Kaitano Tembo (2026–)

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2026 Unity Cup matches against Nigeria and either Jamaica or India on 26 and 30 May 2026, respectively.

Caps and goals are correct as of 26 May 2026, after the match against Nigeria.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Zimbabwe in the last 12 months.

<sup>DEC</sup> Player refused to join the team after the call-up.<br/>

<sup>INJ</sup> Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.<br/>

<sup>PRE</sup> Preliminary squad.<br/>

<sup>RET</sup> Player has retired from international football.<br/>

<sup>SUS</sup> Suspended from the national team, red or yellow cards.

Records

:Players in bold are still active with Zimbabwe.

Most appearances

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|-

!width=30px|Rank

! style="width:175px;"|Player

!width=50px|Caps

!width=50px|Goals

! style="width:100px;"|Career

|-

| 1 ||align=left| Peter Ndlovu || 81 || 37 || 1990–2007

|-

| 2 ||align=left| Adam Ndlovu || 74 || 26 || 1990–2004

|-

| 3 ||align=left| Francis Shonhayi || 70 || 1 || 1989–1998

|-

| 4 ||align=left| John Phiri || 67 || 3 || 1983–1995

|-

| rowspan=2|5 ||align=left| Khama Billiat || 63 || 18 || 2011–present

|-

|align=left| Dumisani Mpofu || 63 || 0 || 1996–2006

|-

| rowspan=3|7 ||align=left| Japhet Mparutsa || 62 || 0 || 1981–1995

|-

|align=left| Stanley Ndunduma || 62 || 9 || 1981–1989

|-

|align=left| Esrom Nyandoro || 62 || 4 || 2001–2012

|-

| 10 ||align=left| Knowledge Musona || 58 || 27 || 2010–present

|-

|}

Top goalscorers

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|-

!width=30px|Rank

! style="width:175px;"|Player

!width=50px|Goals

!width=50px|Caps

!width=50px|Ratio

! style="width:100px;"|Career

|-

| 1 ||align=left| Peter Ndlovu || 37 || 81 || || 1991–2007

|-

| 2 ||align=left| Knowledge Musona || 27 || 58 || || 2010–present

|-

| 3 ||align=left| Adam Ndlovu || 26 || 74 || || 1992–2004

|-

| 4 ||align=left| Agent Sawu || 21 || 47 || || 1990–2004

|-

| 5 || align=left| Khama Billiat || 18 || 63 || || 2011–present

|-

| 6 ||align=left| Vitalis Takawira || 13 || 40 || || 1992–1998

|-

| 7 ||align=left| Shacky Tauro || 11 || 45 || || 1980–1989

|-

| rowspan=2|8 ||align=left| Luke Jukulile || 10 || 15 || || 2000–2001

|-

|align=left| Benjani Mwaruwari || 10 || 44 || || 1999–2010

|-

| rowspan=3|10 || align=left| Prince Dube || 9 || 29 || || 2017–present

|-

|align=left| Cuthbert Malajila || 9 || 31 || || 2008–2017

|-

|align=left| Stanley Ndunduma || 9 || 62 || || 1981–1989

|-

|}

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!colspan=9|FIFA World Cup record

!rowspan="39" |

!colspan=6|Qualification record

|-

!Year

!Round

!Position

!

!

!*

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

|-

|1930 to 1962

|colspan=8 |Part of

|colspan=6 |Part of

|-

!colspan=9|as

!colspan=6|as

|-

| 1966

|colspan=8 |Did not enter

|colspan=6 |Did not enter

|-

| 1970

|colspan=8 rowspan=1|Did not qualify from Asia/Oceania zone

|3

|0

|2

|1

|2

|4

|-

| 1974

| colspan="8" rowspan=2 |Did not enter

| colspan="6" rowspan=2 |Did not enter

|-

| 1978

|-

!colspan=9|as

!colspan=6|as

|-

| 1982

|colspan=8 rowspan=9|Did not qualify from African zone

|2

|1

|0

|1

|1

|2

|-

| 1986

|2

|0

|1

|1

|1

|2

|-

| 1990

|4

|0

|1

|3

|1

|10

|-

| 1994

|10

|6

|2

|2

|11

|10

|-

| 1998

|8

|2

|2

|4

|10

|10

|-

| 2002

|8

|6

|0

|2

|11

|6

|-

| 2006

|12

|5

|3

|4

|17

|16

|-

| 2010

|6

|1

|3

|2

|4

|6

|-

| 2014

|6

|0

|2

|4

|4

|9

|-

| 2018

|colspan=8|Expelled from qualifying competition

|colspan=8 rowspan=1|Expelled from qualifying competition

|-

| 2022

|colspan=8 rowspan=2|Did not qualify from African zone

|8||1||2||5||5||9

|-

| 2026

|10||0||5||5||5||12

|-

| 2030

|colspan=8 rowspan=2|To be determined

|colspan=6 rowspan=2|To be determined

|-

| 2034

|-

!Total||—||||—||—||—||—||—||—

!79||22||23||34||72||96

|}

Africa Cup of Nations

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|-

!colspan=9|Africa Cup of Nations record

|-

!colspan=9|Appearances: 6

|-

!Year

!Round

!Position

!

!

!*

!

!

!

|-

| 1957 to 1980

| colspan="8" |Not affiliated to CAF

|-

| 1982 to 2002

| colspan="8" |Did not qualify

|-

| 2004

|rowspan=2|Group stage

|14th

|3

|1

|0

|2

|6

|8

|-

| 2006

|13th

|3

|1

|0

|2

|2

|5

|-

| 2008 to 2015

| colspan="8" |Did not qualify

|-

| 2017

|rowspan=3|Group stage

|14th

|3

|0

|1

|2

|4

|8

|-

| 2019

|21st

|3

|0

|1

|2

|1

|6

|-

| 2021

|17th

|3

|1

|0

|2

|3

|4

|-

| 2023

|colspan=8|Disqualified due to FIFA suspension

|-

| 2025||Group stage

|20th

|3

|0

|1

|2

|4

|6

|-

| 2027

| colspan="8" rowspan="2" |To be determined

|-

| 2029

|-

!Total

!Group stage

!6/35

!18

!3

!3

!12

!20

!37

|}

African Nations Championship

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|-

!colspan=9|African Nations Championship record

|-

!colspan=9|Appearances: 5

|-

!Year

!Round

!Position

!

!

!*

!

!

!

|-

| 2009||rowspan=2|Group stage

||6th||3||0||3||0||3||3

|-

| 2011||11th||3||1||0||2||2||3

|-bgcolor=#9acdff

| 2014||Fourth place|| 4th||6||2||3||1||3||2

|-

| 2016||Group stage|| 13th||3||0||1||2||1||3

|-

| 2018||colspan="8"|Did not qualify

|-

| 2020|||Group stage||16th||3||0||0||3||1||5|5

|-

| 2022|| colspan="8"|Did not qualify

|-

!Total

!Fourth place

!5/7

!18

!3

!7

!8

!10

!16

|}

African Games

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|-

!colspan=9|African Games record

|-

!Year||Result||Pld||W||D||L||GF||GA

|-

| 1965–1987 || colspan=7|Did not enter

|-

|1991–present

|colspan=8|See Zimbabwe national under-23 football team

|-

!Total||4/4||0||0||0||0||0||0

|}

COSAFA Cup

  • 1997&nbsp;– Qualifying round
  • 1998&nbsp;– Second place
  • 1999&nbsp;– Quarter-finals
  • 2000&nbsp;– Winners
  • 2001&nbsp;– Second place
  • 2002&nbsp;– Quarter-finals
  • 2003&nbsp;– Winners
  • 2004&nbsp;– Semi-finals
  • 2005&nbsp;– Winners
  • 2006&nbsp;– Semi-finals
  • 2007&nbsp;– First round
  • 2008&nbsp;– Quarter-finals
  • 2009&nbsp;– Winners
  • 2010&nbsp;– Cancelled
  • 2013&nbsp;– Second place
  • 2015&nbsp;– Group stage
  • 2016&nbsp;– Group stage
  • 2017&nbsp;– Winners
  • 2018&nbsp;– Winners
  • 2019&nbsp;– Third place
  • 2020&nbsp;– Cancelled
  • 2021&nbsp;– Group stage

CECAFA Cup

  • 1981&nbsp;– Group stage
  • 1982&nbsp;– Third place
  • 1983&nbsp;– Second place
  • 1984&nbsp;– Group stage
  • 1985&nbsp;– Winners
  • 1987&nbsp;– Second place
  • 1988&nbsp;– Fourth place
  • 1989&nbsp;– Group stage
  • 1990&nbsp;– Group stage
  • 2009&nbsp;– Quarter-finals
  • 2011&nbsp;– Quarter-finals

Honours

Intercontinental

  • Afro-Asian Games
  • Bronze Medal (1): 2003

Regional

  • COSAFA Cup
  • Champions (6): 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2017, 2018
  • Runners-up (3): 1998, 2001, 2013
  • Third place (1): 2019
  • CECAFA Cup
  • Champions (1): 1985
  • Runners-up (2): 1983, 1987
  • Third place (1): 1982

References

  • Zimbabwe Football Association at CAF online
  • Zimbabwe Football Association at FIFA