Somalia beats Zimbabwe 1-0 in 1st leg of Qatar World Cup 2022 qualifiers

DJIBOUTI (Somaliland.com) – Somalia national team has defeated Zimbabwe 1-0 in the first leg of the 2022 World Cup qualifier match played in Djibouti yesterday.

The Ocean Stars of Somalia displayed an excellent performance in the 90 minutes humbling Zimbabwe which was touted to win.

Though the Ocean Stars lost a number of chances, they were able to score the only goal of the game in the eighty-six minute, to lead the first-leg with a clean sheet.

The Ghanian Coach Mr.  Bashiru Hayford, who was hired just last year to revive the fortunes of the war-ravaged country, caused the biggest shock yet of the qualifiers when he led the Ocean Stars to historic win over the 2019 Nations Cup campaigners.

The victory was Somalia’s first in a qualifying game since they defeated Kenya in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying in 1984, their first-ever in a World Cup qualifying campaign, and their first win of any kind since January 2009.

The Zimbabwean Warriors, who were eliminated in the group stage of the Afcon in Egypt this summer, were defeated by Somalia’s Ocean Stars in neutral ground, Djibouti, the designated venue for Somalia home games amidst ongoing security issues in Mogadishu. The second leg will be played in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, next week.