By Advent Shoko
HARARE, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe’s Young Warriors made a winning start to their Africa Cup of Nations Under-23 qualifying campaign on Wednesday, beating Mauritius 2-0 at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
David Chigwada and Nisbert Muzenda scored in either half as Zimbabwe dominated the first leg of the opening-round tie and carried a two-goal advantage into next week’s return match in Mauritius.
The result also gives new Young Warriors coach Marc Sanchez a winning start in his first competitive match in charge.
The U23 AFCON campaign has added significance because it forms part of the qualification pathway towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Zimbabwe will travel to Mauritius for the second leg on October 6, with the winner of the tie progressing to face Mali in the next round.
Zimbabwe take control
From the opening whistle, Zimbabwe looked the more composed side.
The Young Warriors enjoyed most of the possession and pushed Mauritius deep into their own half, moving the ball patiently while looking for openings in a compact visiting defence.
El-Shaddai Sadomba came close to breaking the deadlock in the 18th minute when he found space inside the box, but his effort flashed just wide of the post.
Mauritius continued to defend in numbers as Zimbabwe gradually increased the pressure.
The breakthrough finally came in the 34th minute.
Chigwada found an opening and struck towards goal, with the effort taking a slight deflection before beating the Mauritius goalkeeper.
The goal rewarded Zimbabwe’s sustained pressure and gave the hosts a deserved 1-0 lead.
Mauritius rarely threatened in the opening half, while Zimbabwe continued to control territory and possession.
The Young Warriors went into the break ahead, with the visitors struggling to find a way out of their defensive shape.
Muzenda provides the moment of magic
Zimbabwe resumed with the same intensity after the interval.
The hosts immediately pushed forward again, refusing to allow Mauritius to settle into the second half.
Chigwada was withdrawn in the 51st minute, with Tanaka Munemo coming on, while captain Corbyn Mthunzi was booked five minutes later.
The yellow card did little to disrupt Zimbabwe’s rhythm.
Instead, the Young Warriors continued to press for a second goal.
It arrived in the 60th minute, and this time it was Muzenda who provided the spark.
The midfielder doubled Zimbabwe’s advantage with a moment of individual brilliance, producing the kind of attacking quality that had been missing from some of the earlier chances.
Muzenda was one of the standout performers on the night, repeatedly showing the slippery movement and confidence that made him difficult for the Mauritius defence to contain.
At 2-0, Zimbabwe were firmly in control.
Mthunzi came close to adding a third in the 70th minute, but a Mauritius defender got in the way to deny the Young Warriors captain.
Zimbabwe then managed the closing stages professionally.
Pfupa and Padera were replaced by Chigumbu and Munikwa in the 88th minute as Sanchez refreshed his side for the final push.
Five minutes of additional time were played, but Mauritius could not find a way through.
Zimbabwe completed the job with a clean sheet.
Padera, Mthunzi and Muzenda stand out
While the goals will naturally dominate the headlines, Zimbabwe’s performance was built around a strong collective display.
Prosper Padera controlled the midfield with maturity, helping Zimbabwe dictate the tempo and maintain pressure on Mauritius. His experience with the senior Warriors was evident as he appeared comfortable operating in a team playing its first competitive match together.
Mthunzi also impressed as captain, providing leadership and discipline at the back.
But Muzenda arguably supplied the game’s most eye-catching individual moments. His ability to carry the ball, glide past opponents and create problems in tight spaces gave Zimbabwe an extra attacking dimension.
Coach Sanchez was pleased with the overall performance but was careful not to treat the two-goal advantage as the end of the tie.
“I think we dominated the match from the first minute to the last minute,” Sanchez said.
“And I’m so happy with the job that my players have done. We conceded just one shot on target in all the 90 minutes.”
The coach also acknowledged that Zimbabwe could have scored more.
“I think we could have scored more goals. And going with that result to the next match is not a definitive result, so we’ll have to finish the job next match.”
That caution is understandable.
Mauritius will now have home advantage in the return leg and will need to overturn the 2-0 deficit to keep its campaign alive. Mauritius coach Cadrivel Dorasami has indicated that his side intends to take the game to Zimbabwe in the second leg.
Questions remain over squad omissions
The victory has also reignited discussion around some of the players who were not included in Sanchez’s squad.
Among the most notable omissions is Chakuchichi, who was part of the senior Warriors squad at the previous AFCON tournament but did not make the Young Warriors selection.
There has also been discussion around Mafios Chihweta, the reigning Young Player of the Year, who was absent from the squad.
What cannot be disputed is that the Young Warriors have plenty of competition for places.
The squad combines locally based players with youngsters developing in England, Australia, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and South Africa, giving Sanchez a broad pool of talent to work with.
A promising opening chapter
For a team playing its first competitive match together, Zimbabwe showed encouraging levels of control, discipline and attacking quality.
The 2-0 scoreline could arguably have been wider. Zimbabwe created enough opportunities to score more, while Mauritius managed only one shot on target throughout the match, according to Sanchez.
That makes the clean sheet almost as important as the goals.
Still, the job is only halfway done.
The return leg in Mauritius on October 6 will test whether the Young Warriors can reproduce the same control away from home. If they protect their advantage, they will move into the next round, where Mali awaits.
For now, however, Zimbabwe can take confidence from a performance that offered an encouraging glimpse of what this group might become.
The Young Warriors have their first win.
They have their clean sheet.
And, perhaps most importantly, they have given supporters something to believe in.
The next test is finishing the job in Mauritius.
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