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South Africa and Zimbabwe return to action in the 2025 COSAFA Cup when they square off at the Free State Stadium on Saturday. Both sides were denied victories in the Group A opener and will be looking to bounce back here.
South Africa were left red-faced on Wednesday when they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Mozambique in their group curtain-raiser in Bloemfontein.
Bafana Bafana had won each of their previous five outings and were unbeaten in 17 straight games across all competitions, claiming 10 wins and seven draws since their penalty-shootout defeat against Nigeria in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals.
South Africa will be looking to improve on their performance from the 2024 COSAFA Cup, where they suffered a group-stage exit after finishing second in Group A, behind first-placed Mozambique on goal difference.
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Zimbabwe, on the other hand, were denied a dream start to the 2025 COSAFA Cup as they played out a goalless draw with Mauritius on Wednesday.
With that result, Michael Nees’ men have gone unbeaten in eight of their last nine games across all competitions, picking up two wins and six draws — with a 2-1 loss against Cameroon back in November 2024 being the exception.
Like South Africa, Zimbabwe suffered a group-stage exit last year after finishing third in Group B, albeit only below Comoros and Kenya on goal difference.
South Africa vs Zimbabwe Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- With eight wins from the last 18 meetings between the sides, South Africa boasts a slightly superior record in the history of this fixture.
- Zimbabwe have picked up one fewer win in that time, while the spoils have been shared on three occasions.
- South Africa are unbeaten in nine of their last 10 home games across all competitions, picking up five wins and four draws since March 2024.
- Zimbabwe have failed to win five of their last six away games, losing twice and claiming three draws while conceding five goals and scoring three since June 2024.
South Africa vs Zimbabwe Prediction
South Africa were denied a dream start to the new COSAFA Cup campaign and will be looking to bounce back this weekend. While Zimbabwe have proven tough to beat of late, we predict Bafana will make the most of their home advantage and come away with the desired result.
Prediction: South Africa 2-1 Zimbabwe
South Africa vs Zimbabwe Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - South Africa to win
Tip 2: First to score - South Africa (The hosts have opened the scoring in seven of their last eight games)
Tip 3: Over 4.5 cards - No (There have also been fewer than five bookings in South Africa’s last nine outings)
