Khaberni - Zimbabwe relies on a goalkeeper aged 40 to counter Egypt's attacks led by star Mohamed Salah in their clash, on Monday, in the first round of the Africa Cup, as he will be competing in his first major tournament in his long career.
The teams of Egypt and Zimbabwe will face-off in Group Two, which includes the teams of South Africa and Angola.
Washington Arubi, the 40-year-old, is one of Zimbabwe's prominent names as the international goalkeeper since 2005, will make his first appearance in the Africa Cup, having played 30 matches either in World Cup qualifiers, Africa Cup qualifiers, or friendly matches.
Arubi, a player for Morumo Galants in South Africa, will thereby overcome the sadness of four editions he missed, 2006, 2017, 2019, and 2021, while Zimbabwe was absent from the remaining five editions.
Arubi played as the main goalkeeper in the last 13 out of 16 matches, which makes it likely he'll start the significant match against Egypt.
Arubi started his career in Lancashire Steel in Zimbabwe before moving to Highlanders and Bantu Rovers and Dynamos until he played in South Africa with Pretoria in 2012, and since then has been playing in the South African league until he joined his current team, Morumo Galants. He won two league and cup championships in Zimbabwe with Dynamos.
Zimbabwe's squad relies on a roster that is the eighth highest in average age in the tournament held in Morocco, averaging 27.9 years, after Botswana, Mozambique, Egypt, Sudan, Angola, Tunisia, and Gabon.
The roster includes 11 players who are 30 years old or older in positions of goalkeeping, defense, midfield, and attack.
