WARRIORS coach Michael Nees has bemoaned the lack of good luck which could have seen the team grab six points in the two drawn 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers against Kenya and Cameroon in Kampala, Uganda.
Zimbabwe currently sit in third place in Group J with two points after playing two nil-all stalemates, first against Kenya last Friday and then Cameroon on Tuesday evening.
It was the 57-year-old coach’s first set of matches in charge of the Warriors following his appointment at the end of July as he managed to come out undefeated against more fancied opposition, although he is also looking for his first win in charge of the team.
Kenya currently top the group standings with four points after a 2–1 win over Namibia in South Africa on Tuesday and have the same number of points as Cameroon, but have the advantage on goal difference.
Namibia anchor the standings, having lost both matches against Cameroon and Kenya.
Nees’ men failed to find the target in both matches despite commendable performances, which the coach attributed to lack of good luck.
“I think with a little bit of luck, we could be having six points and with a little bit of bad luck, we have zero points. Such is football, but we need to work continuously. We need to stay focused,” Nees said in his assessment of the two qualifiers.
“We really worked hard in the camp to get everyone behind the team. Our focus was to support everybody. We had a good togetherness and I think we are really on the right track. We had just nine days together, but it feels like it was much longer than that. We still have a lot of work to do and for sure I think this performance was very encouraging,” the coach added.
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The first match against Kenya on Friday last week marked forward Khama Billiat’s return to the national team’s fold after coming out of retirement just over a week earlier.
And as expected, the Yadah FC man did not disappoint as he emerged among the Warriors’ top performers in both matches and with a bit of composure, could have scored a goal or two.
While the team showed a lot of discipline and defensive solidity, the struggle for goals in top competitions continued.
One of the outstanding players for Zimbabwe in the two matches was veteran goalkeeper Washington Arubi, who showed that he can still perform at the highest level despite being aged 39.
Stand-in captain Marshall Munetsi and his partner in the team’s engine room Andy Rinomhota gave a good account of themselves, while the defence, which included Munashe Garananga, Gerald Takwara, Godknows Murwira and Jordan Zemura, was at its imperious best.
Five time African champions Cameroon failed to fashion a single shot on target in the whole match on Tuesday against the Warriors’ five attempts on target.
Zimbabwe also recorded a total of 17 shots during the match, while Cameroon managed 13.
It is understandable why Nees was happy with the performance of his charges.
“[It was] a very intense game against a very strong opponent despite their problems off the field. A very disciplined courageous performance from our team, a little bit of coolness and calmness in front of the goal, most likely we would have won the game today [Tuesday]. We can be happy with the performance,” he said.
The Afcon qualifiers resume next month with back-to-back fixtures against Namibia and Nees will be praying for the availability of captain Marvelous Nakamba and striker Tino Kadewere.
