Following their shock loss to Lesotho this past weekend, Zimbabwe head coach Jairos Tapera has vowed that their next 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against South Africa will be a different encounter.
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On Friday afternoon, the Warriors suffered a surprise loss to their COSAFA rivals as goals from Rethabile Rasethuntsa and Jane Thabantso gave the Crocodiles a 2-0 victory at Orlando Stadium.
The victory also saw the continental minnows shoot to the top of Group C in the CAF 2026 World Cup qualification standings.
While Lesotho are top of the group, the defeat saw Zimbabwe plummet to the bottom of the standing as they are yet to register a win during qualification.
Things do not get any easier for the Warriors as they now prepare to face South Africa at the Free State Stadium on Tuesday evening, but while things did not go according to plan for Tapera and his charges against Lesotho, he believes things will be different against their neighbouring country.
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"The loss [to Lesotho] is history, and against Bafana Bafana, it is a different game altogether," he said, as per Soccer24.
"Now we have time to sit down and organise, probably see one or two of the games that Bafana Bafana are playing and see how we can react to their movement.
"I'm sure it will be a different game and that we might perform differently against Bafana Bafana."
Quizzed on what his team needs to improve ahead of the match in Bloemfontein, he added: "On the negative side, I think we need to work on our defence.
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"We need to also work on our set-pieces. We were poor when it came to [defending] the set-pieces."
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