Zimbabwe face Equatorial Guinea on Thursday 12 November in Yaoundé, in matchday three of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers. Defender Munashi Galananga, out with a knee injury since 18 October, is unavailable.
Matchday three of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers takes place on Thursday 12 November 2026 with a clash between Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe. The match will be played at the Stade Omnisport Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé, which has a capacity of 38,509, according to Tribuna.com.
Zimbabwe will have to make do without their defender Munashi Galananga. According to Qiumiwu, the player has been suffering from a knee injury since 18 October 2026, with an estimated return on 30 June 2027. A blow, given that the rest of the squad has no other reported absences. Equatorial Guinea, for their part, have no injuries in their latest squad list, according to the same source.
Poor home form
The numbers do not favour Equatorial Guinea. In their last six home matches, the national team has recorded only one win, one draw and four defeats, scoring just three goals and conceding eight, according to Qiumiwu. An unflattering run for a team ranked third in the group, according to Tribuna.com.
In their last five matches, Vincenzo Alberto Annese’s side has won only once, against Sierra Leone, and lost four times, against DR Congo, Algeria, Sudan and Burkina Faso. To hope to compete with Zimbabwe, who are ahead of them in the standings, Equatorial Guinea will need to rediscover their solidity.
For his part, Ramón Catalá Peiró, Zimbabwe’s head coach, can rely on his team’s away statistics. Zimbabwe have three wins, one draw and two defeats in their last six away matches, scoring ten goals and conceding eight, according to Qiumiwu. Ten goals in six away games, against an Equatorial Guinean defence that has conceded eight goals in their last six home matches.
Zimbabwe solid away but inconsistent
While Zimbabwe are solid away from home, their last five matches are more mixed: one win (Sierra Leone), one draw (Angola) and three defeats (DR Congo, South Africa, Egypt), according to Tribuna.com. An inconsistency that has not prevented them from sitting second in the group, just ahead of today’s opponents.
Equatorial Guinea, third, will look to close the gap in the standings, while Zimbabwe will want to consolidate their second place. Galananga’s absence in defence could, however, weaken the Zimbabwean back line, with the rest of the squad having no other reported absences.
Recent form and statistics favour Zimbabwe.
A battle for position
Zimbabwe, second, and Equatorial Guinea, third, meet in a duel with standings implications. Kick-off is on Thursday 12 November 2026 in Yaoundé.