AFCON 2027 Qualifier: DR Congo Beat Zimbabwe 2-1 

Yoane Wissa scored once and set up another as the Democratic Republic of Congo defeated Zimbabwe 2-1 in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Harare on Monday.

The 30-year-old Newcastle United forward opened the scoring in the 30th minute after Zimbabwe goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze spilled a cross, allowing Wissa to pounce on the loose ball.

DR Congo doubled their advantage in first-half stoppage time when Wissa found Samuel Moutoussamy with a pass that sent the midfielder through to score.

Wissa came close to completing a hat-trick, with a first-half effort narrowly missing the target before he hit the post shortly after the hour mark.

Zimbabwe struggled to contain DR Congo in the first half but improved after the break, with Marshall Munetsi scoring in the third minute of added time.

Munetsi, who plays for English second-tier club Wolverhampton Wanderers, has now scored three times in his last two matches after netting twice in Zimbabwe’s 3-2 away victory over Sierra Leone last week.

The match marked Zimbabwe’s first home international since November 2021, after the National Sports Stadium was ruled unsuitable for international fixtures and underwent lengthy renovations.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa was among the spectators at the 60,000-capacity stadium in Harare.

DR Congo now lead Group E with six points from two matches, having opened their campaign with a 2-0 home victory over Equatorial Guinea.

Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea have three points each, while Sierra Leone remain without a point.

Equatorial Guinea secured a 1-0 victory over Sierra Leone in Yaounde, Cameroon, thanks to a first-minute goal from Loren Zuniga.

The win came at a neutral venue because Equatorial Guinea is among 11 of the 48 AFCON qualifiers without an international-standard stadium.

Central African Republic are another team forced to play outside their country and lost 1-0 to Burkina Faso in Casablanca, Morocco, with Aboubacar Camara scoring the winner in the second half.

Tunisia were also held to a 2-2 draw by Botswana in Rades, extending their run of disappointing results.

Hazem Mastouri scored twice after Botswana had taken the lead, but substitute Lebogang Ditsele levelled for the visitors with a lob in the second half.

The result was Botswana’s second consecutive 2-2 draw after they shared the points with Libya last week. They remain top of Group H ahead of Tunisia on goals scored.

Tunisia have already changed coaches four times this year and are the only one of the 10 African teams that qualified for the 2026 World Cup to have failed to reach the knockout stage.