On Thursday, Zimbabwe managed to secure a 2-2 tie against Benin after overcoming an initial error by their goalkeeper, Washington Arubi, who inadvertently provided the Cheetas with the opening goal.
In the 12th minute, experienced goalkeeper Arubi struggled with a back-pass and lost his positioning against Benin’s Dokou Dodo. This mistake allowed Dokou Dodo to set up the scoring opportunity for Steve Mounie.
Empowered by their opening move, Benin took charge of the game and continued to find the back of the net. They finally achieved this in the 35th minute when Dokou Dodo capitalized on some excellent passing play within their team's offensive area.
The Warriors fought back, managing to score a consolation goal through captain Marshall Munetsi, who fired in a shot off Jordan Zemura's back-pass in the box.
Heading into halftime at a 2-1 scoreline, Warriors coach Michael Nees implemented a strategic adjustment for the second half. He substituted striker Prince Dube with Tawanda Chirewa and moved forward Knowledge Musona back to center forward position.
In the 59th minute, Nees' strategy paid off when Knowledge Musona capitalized on a Jordan Zemura short pass following a free kick to level the score.
Musona had an opportunity to put the Warriors ahead 20 minutes following Jordan Zemura’s additional solid crossing move forward but was thwarted from scoring.
In the 83rd minute, Nees carried out a double substitution by bringing in Tawanda Maswanhise and Terrence Dzvukumanja as replacements for Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat.
Even though Jordan Zemura didn’t find the back of the net, he stood out as the top performer on the field for Zimbabwe by providing two crucial assists, enabling his team to secure the highly prized draw.
The outcome from Thursday placed Zimbabwe at the bottom of Group C with 3 points, whereas Benin rose to the top with 8 points.
On Tuesday, The Warriors will be hungry for victory when they encounter the Super Eagles of Nigeria at Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Nigeria.
Provided by Syndigate Media Inc. ( Syndigate.info ).
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