Mighty warriors AWCON 2026 dream shattered

The Zimbabwe Mighty Warriors have been eliminated from the 2026 Africa Women Cup of Nations following their penalty loss to Angola yesterday at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in South Africa.

The match started 2-1 on aggregate, with Angola leading after their home win, but Zimbabwe managed to take the lead with Ethel Chinyerere’s 35th-minute goal, giving Zimbabwe a draw. Christabel Katona doubled the lead for the Warriors in the 45th minute, making it 2-0 and 3-2 on aggregate in favor of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean forward Rutendo Mukore missed chances, putting Zimbabwe on edge. However, Angola managed to get an equalizer in the 78th minute, and the match ended 2-1 and 3-3 on aggregate, leading to penalties.

Angola scored five penalties, and Zimbabwe scored four, with Mighty Warriors goalkeeper Lindiwe Magwete failing to save a penalty and missing the last penalty, which shattered the Mighty Warriors’ dreams of advancing to the 2026 AWCON.

Angola now progresses to the next round of the competition and will face Malawi after the DRC, which was supposed to face Malawi, withdrew from the campaign.