ZIMBABWE and South Africa share a rich history that cannot be erased by the internet trolls of today. From the day King Mzilikazi fled Tshaka during Mfecane until he settled in present day Bulawayo, the two nations’ history has never been inseparable. Fast forward to the liberation war, Zimbabwe became home to ANC guerrillas plotting against apharthied South Africa.
But that’s just a bit of it.Long before Zimbabwe’s independence, many of her sons and daughters had already flocked South Africa on search of greener pastures; Wenera! The love story between these two brothers cannot be over emphasised.In 1992, as South Africa was on the brink of her independence clashed with a Peter Ndlovu inspired Zimbabwe and lost 4-1. That was the birth of a sporting rivalry that will span decades.In 2000, during a World Cup qualifier at the National Sports stadium Zimbabwe was losing 2-0 with barely 10 minutes to go.
The fans couldn’t stomach it and turned rogue; resulting in the unfortunate loss of more than 10 lives after a stampede.Over the years, the rivalry has shifted from the football pitch to the work place as many Zimbabweans flocked SA in search of greener pastures as the grazing land back home wilted.This caused so much tension between the locals and the expatriates; each blaming the other for their misfortunes.As fate would have it, Fifa grouped SA and Zimbabwe together for the 2026 world cup qualifiers alongside perrennial heavyweights Nigeria.Zimbabwe fared dismally. SA was flying but needed a positive result against Zimbabwe in their second last match of the qualifiers. Zimbabwe playing for nothing stalled SA’s hopes of a third world cup dance after holding Bafana to a nil all draw.The gods however smiled on SA and they booked their ticket to the world cup in their last qualifying match.The football gods weren’t done with these Limpopo brothers though.They were paired together in the AFCON group alongside Egypt and Angola.And as if to prove a point, the two brothers had battle it out in the deciding match of the knockout qualifiers.
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Of course, it needed some comprehension to understand the importance of his tweet. When the match finally kicked off at 6pm on Monday, the whole of Limpopo was holding its breath! South Africa triumphed, but for the neutrals who watched the game; it was by far the most entertaining and heartstopping match of the tournament. The Zimbabwe fans were left with more questions after the game.
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