The Zimbabwe men’s national Under-23 football team arrived in Mauritius on Friday ahead of the second leg of its 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match against the Mauritian national team. The Zimbabwean delegation traveled for the return fixture after securing a 2-0 victory in the first leg of the qualifier, held on Wednesday at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
The first match of the two-leg tie concluded with Zimbabwe scoring two goals to establish an aggregate lead. The outcome of the upcoming second leg will determine which nation advances to the next stage of the qualification process for the continental tournament.
The winner of this preliminary round will join other national teams in the subsequent phases of the qualifiers. The U-23 AFCON tournament serves as the official qualifying path for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the men’s Olympic football tournament. The top finishers in the final U-23 AFCON competition earn the right to represent Africa at the Olympic Games.
According to team officials, the traveling squad for Zimbabwe consists of the players who participated in the home fixture, with no changes reported to the roster. The Mauritius Football Association has not issued a public statement on its team’s preparations following the first-leg match.
The second leg is scheduled to be played this weekend. The team that scores more goals over the two matches will be declared the winner and will move forward in the qualifying rounds. In the event of an aggregate tie, the winner is determined by the away goals rule, which gives preference to the team that scored more goals in their opponent’s stadium. If the teams are still tied, the match proceeds to extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shootout.
