At 21:00 Beijing time on January 10, the 2022 African Cup of Nations staged a thrilling battle, the world's 121st Zimbabwe almost created a miracle, they fought with the big hit Senegal until 97 minutes, only to be defeated by Mane's penalty. Despite losing the game, Zimbabwe earned respect because they almost did a miracle.
Zimbabwe, located in southeastern Africa, was last popular because of severe inflation, and the Zimbabwean coin was once a joke in the world. However, in the field of football, Zimbabwe has not achieved much and is currently ranked 121st in the world. You must know that the current world ranking of the national football team is 74, and Zimbabwe is far inferior to us.
The Zimbabwean player that Chinese fans are most familiar with is Mushekwi, a foreign player who plays for Zhejiang. However, the 34-year-old Mushekwe lost the squad and failed to play with the team in the Africa Cup of Nations.
In the first game of the group stage, Zimbabwe faced Senegal, the opponent ranked 20th in the world, as well as Mane, Barlow Toure, Eduard Mendy, Geyer and other big names playing for Liverpool, Chelsea, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain and other European giants, the lineup value of up to 350 million euros, the gap between the two sides is very large.
Throughout the game, Zimbabwe were passively beaten, with less than 40% possession, but they created 10 shots on goal, just one less than Senegal. In addition, Zimbabwe shot on target twice, also slightly behind, and did not fall behind on the scene. For most of the game, Zimbabwe withstood the pressure.
The two sides fought until the stoppage time, the score was still 0-0, and Zimbabwe was about to score a point. In the 95th minute, Ma Zonggui played a handball in the penalty area and ate the yellow dot package. In the 97th minute, Mane smiled and shot into the dead corner, Senegal completed the whistle-blowing kill, zimbabwe fell down, which is exactly where football is cruel.
Zimbabwe lost dramatically to Senegal and has not been able to beat the other side since 1993, and has suffered an embarrassing four-game losing streak. But against Africa's top team, Zimbabwe almost scored one point, just one step away from creating a miracle, and enough to win the respect of the fans.
This is the third consecutive time Zimbabwe has reached the final stage of the African Cup of Nations, but on the previous two occasions they have been reduced to foils, both of which are at the bottom with a record of 1 draw and 2 losses. This time, Zimbabwe is in the same group as Senegal, Malawi and Guinea, and unless there is a miracle, it will still be difficult to reach the knockout rounds.