Photo Credit - Richards Bay Football Club.
Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has welcomed the two week FIFA international break which will see national teams battling it out for a ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The window break comes at a time when Amkakhosi have been struggling in the Betway Premiership with their last assignment seeing them suffer a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Richards Bay.
In the fixture at Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi, South of Durban on Sunday, second half goals from Fekile Gcaba and Yanela Mbuthumba gave the hosts three points that could prove vital in their quest for safety come the end of the season.
However, Amakhosi were left to bemoan an opportunity missed, as once again, they came up short at the business end of the pitch and the outcome could deliver the killer blow in their quest finish amongst the top four teams and secure a ticket to Caf competition next season.
“I think we play games every three days and there is not much you can work on when you play every three days. We have been struggling in that area and we hope that with the international break, we can work on certain things,” said Nabi as quoted by SowetanLive.
“After they scored early in the second half, the team became nervous as they tried to come back and when you do that, you leave a lot of spaces behind, which they took advantage of to score the second goal.
“Against a low block like how they were playing, a lot of people inside and around the box, we tried to do combinations and make crosses. But we were lacking a little bit of a big striker that can fight for the ball and we have to give credit to Richards Bay; they fought for the three points.”
The Tunisian coach maintained that Chiefs was work in progress: “We are in the process of rebuilding a team and a big club such as Kaizer Chiefs is not built in six or seven months, you need more time than that.
“We know exactly what we need to have a better team or club. And it is not today because we are losing and tomorrow when we are winning and say the opposite. I have to emphasise that we are in the building process and we know exactly what we need.”
After the international break, Chiefs, who remained stuck in eighth position on the 16 team league table with 29 points from 22 matches, will resume league action with a game against Golden Arrows at Mpumalanga Stadium on March 20.
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