Zimbabwe coach Michael Nees has boldly stated that if his team's chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup are over, then Nigeria's hopes are too.
Zimbabwe dealt a significant blow to Nigeria's chances of automatic qualification for the World Cup, with the two sides playing out a 1-1 draw in Uyo, Nigeria, on Tuesday night.
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The Super Eagles went into the fixture confident of securing a win over the Warriors.
Influential figures and organisations within the country even rallied large numbers of fans to attend the match, with one state governor reportedly purchasing 30,000 tickets for supporters. It is also said that 500 Nigeria jerseys were handed out for free to encourage fans to back the Super Eagles in their World Cup qualification quest.
However, the outcome didn't go as planned for the hosts, with Zimbabwe's Tawanda Chirewa delivering a devastating blow by equalising in the 90th minute.
Zimbabwe boss Nees didn't hold back after the game, seemingly criticising Nigeria's overconfidence ahead of the match.
"We know when things don't go 100 percent Nigeria's way they get frustrated, they start to panic," Nees said during his post-match press conference, according to Naija Times.
"I remember your captain said we should forget about getting a result here.
"Like I said, the World Cup qualification is over when it's over and if it is over for us, then it is over for Nigeria because how many points do Nigeria have, you are not first or second.
"Nigeria came into the game full of confidence after the win against Rwanda and we knew the longer the game went the slower they would get, and it was exactly the way it was.
"We showed that we don't give up and I think with three more minutes we would have come away with a win, because I think in defence your team was dead physically.
"We showed we can play football; we didn't park the bus. Nigeria started aggressively and wanted to end the game quickly but it didn't work out. We resisted, we showed resilience."
Nigeria are now six points behind Group C leaders South Africa, with only four qualifiers remaining.
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By Lukhanyo Mtuta
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