MARVELOUS Nakamba sat out Warriors' last training session for the second day running yesterday, but coach Michael Nees insist “all players are available” for today's crucial Africa Cup of Nations Group J reverse fixture against Namibia at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Zimbabwe will be looking to complete a double over Namibia after beating the Brave Warriors 1-0 in the first leg match on Thursday at the same venue.
The Luton star, who started in last week's match on his return from a long injury lay-off, watched the team's last training session from the sidelines.
This was the second time he did not take part in a group session on the field.
He didn't even show up at the training session on Saturday as he was allowed to train in the gym indoors.
Speaking at the pre-match Press conference, Nees refused to give away much tactical information about the match.
When asked to give team news and to explain if he is going to make any changes to the team that started last week, Nees said: “We cannot reveal because players can still get injured in the last training or fall sick overnight. We will wait until the time is right. We have two or three knocks but its normal when you play two games in four days. We will wait until tomorrow (today) but I'm confident everyone is fit.”
Zimbabwe played second fiddle for most of the Thursday match, but still managed to get a victory courtesy of a Khama Billiat first half penalty.
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The disjointed performance has been blamed on fatigue.
“We have had some days here, which is enough to shake off the fatigue. It's enough for the players to recover so fatigue is not an excuse,” Nees said.
Having had an extended period with his boys in camp, Nees expects an improved display although he is wary of the threat posed by Namibia’s front three.
“They (Namibia) have been together for a long time in camp so they had a big advantage in the first leg but that advantage is slowly fading away. They are dangerous especially in attack because they have top players who are in the South African league. They have (Peter) Shalulie, (Dion) Hotto and Prins (Tjiueza), who are excellent players and can really, individually and as a group, create some problems for any team. We have to be very alert because they are very fast, dynamic and if we can manage them I'm sure we can also create some opportunities to score. I'm confident about that because we have a lot of good players also and I believe in their abilities."
Zimbabwe are second in Group J with five points and a victory today could put them on the verge of qualification for next year's Afcon finals.
Namibia have lost their opening three matches of the campaign and anything less than a victory today would see the team crashing out of the running.
Nees is preparing for a Brave Warriors backlash.
"We won the first match so Namibia will go all out to keep their hopes alive for qualification. We expect a team which will go absolutely to the limit. We played them so we know how they play and we know what is required. We will have to show more skill and we are confident that we will get a positive result."
With supporters allowed to watch today match after they were denied access last week, Nees is hoping for an electrifying Orlando Stadium. He wants the crowd and players to feed off each other as the Warriors aim to put one hand on the ticket to Morocco next year.
The match kicks off at 6pm.
