THE Warriors are likely to return to South Africa for their next home assignment, a Group C 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier against Benin mid-March.
Zimbabwe’s senior football team will attempt to revive their ailing campaign, first facing Benin on March 17 before taking on Nigeria.
Just like in the last international break, where they played Kenya in Polokwane, South Africa, in an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier before flying to Cameroon, Zifa plans to host the home match in South Africa before travelling to West Africa.
Coach Michael Nees prefers to play the home match in South Africa, where the team has recorded some success, including qualifying for this year’s Afcon finals in Morocco.
Zimbabwe is currently at the bottom of their Group C World Cup qualifiers with just two points from draws against Nigeria and Rwanda under Baltemar Brito.
The team followed these draws with defeats to Lesotho and South Africa, both played in South Africa last year under Jairos Tapera.
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Last year, Zimbabwe hosted matches in Uganda against Cameroon, then Orlando Stadium in South Africa, and later preferred Polokwane for the match against Kenya.
They won all three matches played in South Africa, and Nees wants the team to return to their neighbours, where they enjoy significant support from Zimbabweans living there.
However, they face logistical challenges, particularly in travelling from South Africa to Nigeria after the Benin match, which may eat into their training time.
For the last match, they travelled from Polokwane to Johannesburg before flying to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where they spent a night before connecting to Yaounde.
The team also faces challenges due to the inactivity of locally-based Warriors players, as the Premier Soccer League is set to kick off in March.
Locally-based players who have been part of Nees’ squad include Khama Billiat, Godknows Murwira, Walter Musona, Emmanuel Jalai, Richard Hachiro, Andrew Mbeba and Brian Banda.
Goalkeeper Martin Mapisa, formerly at Dynamos, has moved to Zambia and is likely to get some playing time.
Billiat, Murwira, Musona and Mbeba may benefit from Scottland’s pre-season tour of South Africa, where they will play friendly matches.
Nees had hoped to have the players for a training camp, but it appears his wishes will not be fulfilled.
“We don’t know yet when the players are going to be available for us. Basically, we have three groups of players, those outside of Africa, overseas, players in South Africa and players here in Zimbabwe,” Nees told the IndependentSport.
“We need to know in order to plan. When are these players available? And to make a quick decision, I can plan a camp tomorrow, but it can only be done if we know. Clearly, we must all pull in one direction to try and turn the ship around in the World Cup qualification.”
He emphasised the need to pick up maximum points.
“We are in the last position and when we select players, we need players that are match-fit, at least having played three or four league matches.”
He added: “It’s not all lost. The situation is not at its best and we have to turn it around in the home match against Benin and then against Nigeria.
“Nigeria is really wounded and you cannot predict how it will turn out. So, we need to try everything to win.
“The worry for me is that the league starts normally at the end of March and qualification games are in March. And players without league match fitness, it’s a big issue, big problem.
“For me, there are two options, to do the camp with local players before March matches, or the league should start in the beginning of March so that they have at least three games. It’s a big concern. Match fitness in serious games is a key issue.”
The Warriors are set to receive a boost with the return of fit-again forward Tawanda Chirewa.
However, the 21-year-old’s loan spell at Derby was cut short after injuries hampered his time there.
Chirewa missed the last international window due to injury but returned to action on Tuesday, playing for Wolves’ Under-21 side against Sheffield United.
He initially joined Derby on a season-long loan in August but returned to Molineux after the Rams opted to terminate his loan deal.
Derby expressed its gratitude to him in a statement published on their website: “Derby County would like to wish Tawanda every success in the future and for his efforts during his time with the club.”
Speaking in December, Rams boss Paul Warne said: “It hasn’t worked out for him or for us as well as it could have simply because he got injured. We signed two young lads and men’s football is a step up.
“There is always that threat that you could go and get Manchester United’s best Under-21s striker, but once they play men’s football it’s just more physical. We are just unfortunate that two young loans got injured and it’s limited their gametime with us.”