WARRIORS coach Michael Nees is expecting an improvement from his side when they face Namibia in the two teams’ Africa Cup of Nations Group J reverse fixture set for Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Monday.
Zimbabwe scrapped to a one-nil win over the Brave Warriors on Thursday at the same venue, courtesy of a Khama Billiat first half penalty goal.
Nees’ men were pegged in their own half for the majority of the match, and had goalkeeper Washington Arubi to thank after the veteran goalie made several good saves, especially in the second half to keep the marauding Brave Warriors at bay.
The German expatriate, while commending the team’s defensive resilience, blamed the team’s tepid performance to the limited time he had with the squad preparing for the match.
With some of his foreign-based stars only arriving in camp on Wednesday after featuring for their respective clubs at the weekend, Nees only had one day to work with the full squad.
“Now we have four days to train with the whole squad,” he said.
The team had a recovery session yesterday morning.
“We trained those who didn’t play. They had a loading session, and the others did a recovery session. On Saturday, again, those who played more than 60 minutes, we cannot do much with them because they still need to recover,” Nees said.
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“One day before the game, we will have one hour inside the stadium to train with the full squad. We didn’t have enough time before this match and you could see it in our defending and in some situations, if you look closely, you could notice what I’m saying.”
Thursday’s victory over a winless Namibia temporarily put Zimbabwe top of Group J with five points.
Other group members Kenya and Cameroon were expected to face off last night.
Nees knows that another victory for Zimbabwe on Monday would put his team in a commanding position in the group ahead of the return fixtures against Kenya and Cameroon next month.
The top two teams from the group will qualify for next year’s Afcon finals to be hosted by Morocco.
“Our target is that we want to have in November the qualification destiny in our own hands . . . that we can decide our own destiny,” Nees said.
“But even if we again collect three points on Monday, the group will not be decided. Towards that objective, we are working hard to make sure we have the destiny in our own hands.”
Thursday’s game was played in an empty stadium at the request of “hosts” Namibia.
However, stadium doors will be opened for fans on Monday when Zimbabwe will be the home side, and a full house is expected.
The two nations are playing their home matches in foreign land because they don’t have CAF-accredited stadiums in their respective countries.
“We need support definitely. It’s very difficult for any professional player or other professional people, especially those who perform in arts, you need spectators,” Nees said.
“It’s way better than to play in an empty stadium. The first game it felt like COVID-19 times, and I think nobody enjoyed it. We need spectators . . . we want them to be there.
“They are critical to how players play. Even if they are against us, we would want to change them around by playing in a way that can change them to be for us. If the spectators are not there, football becomes boring.”
Nees will need a number of his key players to put in a good shift to stand a chance of completing a double over Namibia.
Poster boy Billiat had a subdued game and looked like he was carrying an injury, while the hugely talented Jordan Zemura was also not himself.
The coach confirmed that Billiat played through hamstring pain.
One positive thing for Nees from the last match was the performance of his captain Marvelous Nakamba.
The midfielder played brilliantly after he was thrown straight back into the starting line-up, having missed the matches against Kenya and Cameroon due to an injury.
