Photo Credit - Zimbabwe Football Association.
Zimbabwe coach Michael Nees has discussed what helped them to snatch a vital 1-1 draw against Nigeria in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture at Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Tuesday.
After a 0-0 draw in the first half, the Super Eagles finally broke the deadlock in the 74th minute when Victor Osimhen headed home after sustained pressure but the Warriors stunned the home crowd with a precise 90th-minute strike courtesy of Tawanda Chirewa to level the score.
“We know when things don’t go 100 percent Nigerians way they get frustrated, they start to panic I remember your captain said we should forget about getting a result here,” Nees told reporters after the game as quoted by Complete Sports.
“Like I said the World Cup qualification is over when it’s over and if it is over for us then it is over for Nigeria because how many points do Nigeria have, you are not first or second. Nigeria came into the game full of confidence after the win against Rwanda and we knew the longer the game goes the slower they will get and it was exactly the way it was.
“We showed that we don’t give up and I think with three more minutes we would have come away with a win because I think in defence your team was dead physically. We showed we can play football, we didn’t pack the bus Nigeria started aggressively and wanted to end the game quickly it didn’t work out, we resisted, we showed resilience.”
Despite the draw, Zimbabwe remained rooted at the bottom of the six team Group C with four points, while Nigeria kept their fourth position with seven points. South Africa, who defeated Benin 2-0, cemented their top spot with 13 points with Rwanda, who drew 1-1 against Lesotho, staying second with eight points.
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