Warriors interim coach Jairos Tapera has bemoaned the defensive mistakes that cost his side in the game against South Africa on Tuesday.

Zimbabwe lost 3-1 on the matchday four of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Group C.

Defender Munashe Garan’anga mistakenly lost the ball and Iqraam Rayners capitalised on the blunder and opened the scoring in the first minute.

Another mistake, this time from Warriors keeper Godfrey Chitsumba, saw Thapelo Morena scoring Bafana’s second goal.

Speaking to SABC Sport after the match, Tapera said: “We made our lives difficult in terms of defending.

“Imagine, in the first minute through the central defender, he made a mistake and we conceded.

“We immediately scored an equaliser, stabilised everything and started doing well.

“We thought we might get the second goal, but a lapse in concentration saw us conceding for the second time.

“We were not marking tight in the box and they punished us.

“The third goal, it was through the middle again and we were punished.”

Zimbabwe got their consolation goal from Tawanda Chirewa, who had an outstanding outing through out the game, in the second minute.

Meanwhile, the result placed South Africa in second place with seven points, while the Warriors remained on the bottom of the group with two points.