Warriors of Zimbabwe’s coach, Michael Nees has hinted that he may have to line out some new players against the Super Eagles for Tuesday’s 2026 World Cup qualifier in Uyo, Sports247 reports.
Although he praised his lads for coming from two-nil down to force a 2-2 draw with Benin Republic on Friday, the German tactician admitted that he might be forced to make some changes based on any unexpected situation that might trail the last game.
Speaking on the heels of his side’s ‘home’ fixture that was played in Durban, South Africa, because Zimbabwe do not have a suitable arena, Nees acknowledged that various factors could rule some players out of the next game, and thereby pave way for new ones to step in.
The clean shaven gaffer, who has previously worked as a technical director in Japan, Israel, South Africa and Kosovo, retorted: “In a camp, there’s always a little bit of change of presence. It may be due to injuries, or someone can fall sick. Someone can also be suspended, or maybe his form dips. So, we always have a few new guys, and we try to interact with them to integrate them into the team.”
Nees further inferred that he will not rely on the same starting eleven that eked out the pyrrhic draw with Benin Republic on Friday, as he believes the array of talents available to him in The Warriors’ should make it possible for him to rejig his squad ahead of their impending clash with Nigeria in Uyo.
“A team doesn’t consist of only 11 players. For the national team, you need to really extend the group up to 30 players, and we always have three players for each position. We’ve not decided who will play, as we still have a couple of days to go. But, when the match day comes, we must be burning,” Nees posited.
Incidentally, Zimbabwe enter Tuesday’s match as the last placed team in Group C, with only three points from five matches; but one of those games was a famous draw at home with fourth placed Nigeria, whose revival they will try to disrupt by putting up a gritty fight at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.
