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Zimbabwe and Sudan kick off their preparations for the AFCON 2021 with a friendly warm-up game on Sunday.
The game will be played at one of the training grounds in Cameroon and the location has not yet been disclosed.
Zimbabwe have been drawn into Group B at the tournament, where they'll have to battle it out with Senegal, Guinea and Malawi for a place in the knockout round.
Sudan will be making their first appearance in continental competition since 2012 and face an uphill task in making it to the knockout stage, with Egypt, Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau completing Group D.
Zimbabwe vs Sudan Head-to-Head
This will be the first competitive meeting on record between the two national teams.
Zimbabwe form guide (all competitions): D-L-L-L-L
Sudan form guide (all competitions): L-D-L-D-D
Zimbabwe vs Sudan Team News
Zimbabwe
A 23-man squad had been named for the AFCON by Zimbabwe. Head coach Norman Mapeza will be without the services of star man Khama Billiat, who announced his retirement from international football last month.
The team has also been hit by an injury crisis with the likes of Marvelous Nakamba, Tawanda Maswanhise, Marshal Munetsi and Tendayi Darikwa failing the fitness requirements ahead of the tournament.
Injury: Marvelous Nakamba, Tawanda Maswanhise, Marshal Munetsi, Tendayi Darikwa
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Sudan
Sudan had already begun their preparation for the AFCON and were involved in a warm-up game against Ethiopia. They lost 3-2 but all 34 players called up for the competition have trained as per usual.
Injury: None
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Zimbabwe vs Sudan Predicted XI
Zimbabwe Predicted XI (4-3-3): Petros Mhari; Bruce Kangwa, Teenage Hadebe, Jordan Zemura, Takudzwa Chimwemwe; Thabani Kamusoko, Kelvin Madzongwe, Ishmael Wadi; Knowledge Musona, David Moyo, Tinotenda Kadewere
Sudan Predicted XI (5-3-2): Mohamed Mustafa; Salah Nimer, Ammar Mohamed, Mohamed Kasri, Amgad Ismail, Mazin Mohamedein; Al-Sadiq Hassan Musa, Mohamed Sharafeddine, Ali Mohamed; Mohamed Abdelrahman, Musab Al-Sharif
Zimbabwe vs Sudan Prediction
Zimbabwe and Sudan have both struggled in their recent outings during the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualification second-round fixtures but have managed to score a few goals in their games in 2021.
Sudan scored twice in their friendly game against Ethiopia and are expected to find the back of the net here as well. Both managers are looking to get their players up to speed before the AFCON group stage fixtures commence in the second week of January. With that in mind, we expect both teams to have a decent game.
A draw appears to be the most likely outcome here.
Prediction: Zimbabwe 2-2 Sudan
