Preview: Angola vs Zimbabwe - prediction, team news, lineups

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations continues on Friday, December 26, 2025, as Angola face Zimbabwe in a Group B fixture at the Stade de Marrakech, Morocco.

Following opening-day defeats, the Black Sables and the Warriors are under early pressure in a group featuring tournament favourites Egypt and South Africa, knowing that a positive result is crucial as the group begins to take shape after the first round of matches.

Match preview

Angola head into their second Group B match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations looking to recover from a difficult start after being edged out 2–1 by South Africa in their opening fixture, where Show cancelled out the opener before Lyle Foster struck in the 79th minute to secure victory for Bafana Bafana.

Black Sables have now failed to win nine of their 10 opening matches at the AFCON, recording six draws and three defeats, with their only opening-game victory coming in 2012 when they beat Burkina Faso 2–1.

On the two previous occasions Angola lost their opening AFCON match, in 1996 and 2006, they went on to draw their second fixture, and they have never progressed to the knockout stage after losing their first game.

Angola have won their second group match on three occasions after failing to triumph in the opener, doing so in 2008 against Senegal following a draw with South Africa, in 2010 against Malawi after drawing with Mali, and in 2023 against Mauritania after a draw with Tanzania.

Across nine previous second group matches at the continental championship, Angola have recorded three wins, four draws and two defeats, with both losses coming against South Africa in 1996 and 2013, while their form heading into the tournament showed a mixed return of three wins, two draws and one defeat in their last six competitive matches across all competitions, with the only loss coming in an international friendly against world champions Argentina.

Patrice Beaumelle’s side have scored at least three goals in each of their last three victories against Mauritius, Zambia and Mozambique, while also recording draws in World Cup qualifiers against Cameroon and Eswatini, scoring 12 goals and conceding eight in total.

In head-to-head meetings, the COSAFA rivals have faced each other 19 times, with Angola and Zimbabwe recording eight wins apiece alongside three draws, with their first encounter coming in a 3–2 Zimbabwe victory in a friendly on 10 November 1985.

Zimbabwe conceded two second-half goals in their opening fixture against Egypt to suffer defeat, with strikes from Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah marking their third consecutive opening-game loss and fifth overall at the tournament.

Historically, Marian Marinica’s side have been regular AFCON qualifiers in recent editions, but progression beyond the group stage has remained elusive, having lost their second group match four times in five previous appearances in 2004, 2006, 2017 and 2021, with their only exception a draw in 2019.

The Warriors have never won either of their first two matches at the AFCON, with all three of their tournament victories coming in their final group game, while their loss to Egypt was their 11th defeat in 16 matches overall.

Zimbabwe’s last five AFCON matches have all produced a winner, yielding one victory and four defeats, and they are yet to record a goalless draw or keep a clean sheet at the finals.

This fixture represents their second meeting with fellow Southern African opposition at AFCON, following a 2–1 defeat to Malawi in their second group match in 2021, although they have scored in each of their last three tournament games, their longest scoring run in AFCON history.

Angola Africa Cup of Nations form:

Angola form (all competitions):

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Zimbabwe Africa Cup of Nations form:

Zimbabwe form (all competitions):

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Team News

Angola will be without forward Zini, who misses out through injury and is not expected to feature in this fixture, but the rest of the squad remains available for selection.

Veteran midfielder Fredy has been in outstanding form for club and country, registering five goal contributions across his last four matches for each, and after standing out as Angola’s best performer against South Africa, maintaining that level could be crucial to their push for qualification.

To put his season into perspective, Fredy registered four goals and one assist for Bodrumspor in Turkey last season, while this campaign he has already produced nine goals and nine assists in 17 Turkish 1. Lig appearances.

At 35, he is enjoying the best form of his career, with this season’s numbers surpassing his output from any previous club campaign, and the Red Devils will rely on his influence to drive the team forward while creating chances for both himself and his teammates.

For the Warriors, Marinica has received a timely boost ahead of their clash against Angola, with Knowledge Musona, Sean Fusire and Divine Lunga all returning to full training, following confirmation from the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) that the trio have recovered from injuries that ruled them out of Tuesday’s opening match against Egypt and will be available for selection on Friday.

The trio picked up their injuries during a training session ahead of the tournament, forcing them to miss the Warriors’ narrow defeat to Egypt, however, ZIFA says all three players completed a full training session on Thursday, showing no signs of discomfort and displaying sharpness and confidence as preparations intensified for the Angola encounter.

While the Warriors welcome back three key players, defender Munashe Garan’anga remains a concern after suffering a dead leg during the Egypt match.

The Copenhagen star did not take part in the latest training session, with the medical team continuing to monitor his condition ahead of Friday’s game.

Angola possible starting lineup:

Marques; Mata, Gaspar, Buatu, T. Carneiro; Show, Luvumbo, Fredy; Maestro, Dala, Nzola

Zimbabwe possible starting lineup:

Arubi; Murwira, Takwara, Hadebe, Lunga; Nakamba, Musonda, Fabisch; Dube, Msendami, Navaya

We say: Angola 1-1 Zimbabwe

Both sides are chasing their first win of this year’s AFCON in Morocco and will see this fixture as a key opportunity to claim all three points against a direct rival, setting the stage for a potentially absorbing contest.

However, the balance between the teams could see them cancel each other out and settle for a share of the spoils, a result that would keep their qualification hopes alive while they await the outcome of the later fixture involving Egypt and South Africa.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.