2026 WCQ: Zimbabwe came to defend in Nigeria draw – says disappointed Chelle

Photo Credit - Nigeria Super Eagles.

Nigeria coach Eric Chelle has accused Zimbabwe of playing defensive football during their 1-1 draw in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture at Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Tuesday.

The Super Eagles went into the matchday six fixture with confidence having secured their first win in the qualification campaign – a 2-0 outcome against Rwanda – but they found it difficult to break down the Warriors, and thus saw their hopes of climbing up Group C being dented when they conceded a stoppage-time equalizer.

After notching a brace against Amavubi, Victor Osimhen continued with his fine run of scoring form after he gave the Super Eagles the lead in the 74th minute, heading home after sustained pressure.

However, Tawanda Chirewa stunned the home crowd with a precise 90th-minute strike to level the score, leaving goalkeeper Francis Uzoho rooted to the ground.

“In the first half we had the chance to score 10 goals, Zimbabwe came to defend, my players were the best on the pitch with possession football and fast attack,” Chelle said in his post-match press conference as quoted by Complete Sports.

“I’m so disappointed for my players for the country and the way things are now we have to start looking at second place, we deserve to win but this is football. I think in the last 10 minutes it was hard for us because we did well in the first half with a lot of intensity so maybe the players were a little tired.

“We tried to score a lot of goals, after our goal I told my players to try to score another goal but like I said maybe they were tired. We played a diamond formation and created lots of chances to score goals, this system is tasking and involve lots of energy and this is why we had Ademola on the left and also on the other side.

“After we scored it became difficult for Victor so I made another change and I didn’t want to put a defender and we can say maybe the choice was not good but if we had win we would say the choice was good.”

The draw saw Nigeria remain fourth with seven points, while South Africa cemented their top position following a 2-0 away win against Benin at Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny.

Meanwhile, just like Nigeria, Rwanda conceded late on to draw 1-1 against Lesotho but they they managed to keep their second position on the pile with eight points, the same number as third-placed Benin, while Lesotho remained a place below the Super Eagles with six and Zimbabwe at the bottom with four.