Zimbabwe head coach Michael Nees has shed light on what fueled the Warriors’ resilience in holding Bafana Bafana to a 0-0 stalemate at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday.
The Warriors delivered a solid performance that dented Bafana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification aspirations. Hugo Broos‘ team tried everything, but it was not to be as stubbornness and patience paid off for Zimbabwe.
Now, Bafana will be pinning their hopes on Nigeria to beat Group C leaders Benin on Tuesday, 14 October in the last round of matches. Bafana themselves must beat Rwanda on the same day if they have to take advantage. Benin have 17 points while Bafana are two points behind and are in second position. Nigeria are third with 14 points.
Satisfied that his men showed character and avoided defeat in Durban, Nees said Bafana served as a good measure of their pedigree.
Simply put, the real focus for The Warriors is already on the 2025 AFCON tournament, where they will meet Bafana again, having been drawn in Group B alongside their neighbours, Angola and Egypt.
‘WE DON’T WANT TO GO TO MOROCCO TO BE TOURISTS’: MICHAEL NEES
And for Nees, Zimbabwe’s spirited performance against Bafana is a huge statement of what they want to achieve in the AFCON tournament to be staged in Morocco.
“I must admit, we could have done better, but actually, that’s what we need to expect from the team and what they expect from themselves,” he said. “I want to say it again, we don’t want to go to Morocco and be tourists there. We want to be there [in Marrakech] on New Year’s Eve [to compete], because the second round starts in the new year.
“That is our ambition, our target, we’re working towards that. It’s not always a smooth ride, there are little ups and downs, but when you look at the long run, there is hope.
“I don’t think many teams today could have come to South Africa in a full house like this and get a draw. And we were there from the performance, from the attitude and also from the skills, I’m satisfied.”
The Warriors face Lesotho in their last match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday. Additionally, that match is merely a formality, as both teams failed in their bid to qualify for the global showpiece.
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