THE Zimbabwe Warriors concluded their disastrous Group C 2026 World Cup campaign at the bottom of the table, winless, following an embarrassing 1-0 defeat to rivals Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Monday.
The result completes a demoralising double for Lesotho over the Warriors and leaves coach Michael Nees searching for answers — and goalscorers — before the Afcon finals in Morocco.
In a candid post-match interview, Nees was unequivocal in pinpointing the team's chronic inability to convert chances as the reason for yet another defeat, which came via a last-minute strike from Hlompho Kalake.
The coach admitted the outcome was deeply disappointing, since the defeat mirrored previous struggles.
"Disappointed, not the result we wanted, everything came as anticipated, the long balls, the counterattacks from Lesotho where they are really strong," Nees said. "And at the end, we lose 1-0 in the final minute, it's bitter."
He stressed that the lack of goals is a crippling issue.
“We need to find a way to bring the ball in the net, we cannot calm our game, we don't score enough when we have chances, we don't shoot accurately, or we don't pass the ball when the teammate is free.”
The coach drew a direct comparison to previous failures.
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“The final decision making, the final concentration, a similar situation like against Rwanda, actually, almost a déjà vu, just a different time. We had a chance in the second half; we must score a goal to calm our game down, to get the ball more smoothly circulating. But if you don't score, it's difficult to win, and then you get punished. Today [Monday], we were punished at the final minute, bitter, not nice, for sure not nice.”
Zimbabwe had gilt-edged chances through Prince Dube, Jordan Zemura, Bill Antonio and Daniel Msendami in the match but failed to bury any of them.
Nees called the issue a widespread typical finishing problem in Zimbabwean football, noting that the goal-scoring rate from the national team down to the clubs is way too low.
Beyond the technical failure, Nees cited match fitness and fatigue as major obstacles, saying that many players simply aren't getting enough competitive minutes at a high level.
Nees said the players were lacking match fitness.
“Sometimes we have good players. Who is playing regularly on a high level from the start? That's Jordan [Zemura], that's Marshall Munetsi. The rest are very often under-21 or sitting on the bench or not even in the match day squad,” he said.
Compounding this was the physical toll of the previous match, Nees said.
“And then you have today, it's unfortunate that a lot of players were fatigued because they went over the limit against South Africa."
The coach also had to contend with an unfortunate administrative blunder that cost them an attacking option.
"The one player (Tawanda Maswanhise) misplaces his passport... And then we couldn't use him because he was ineligible. It's just a chain of unfortunate events."
He suggested that poor conditioning might be directly affecting their accuracy near the goal.
“Maybe it's also sometimes when you come close to the goal that you're a little bit out of breath. And you cannot put that energy in the ball and that focus and that concentration.”
With the Afcon finals looming, Nees plans to use the next international window to address the squad’s glaring lack of offensive firepower. He expressed his willingness to scout for players who can finally solve the goal drought.
"We need in the next window to try other players, different players up front. Maybe there is someone who can put the ball in the net,” he said.
“We have to look really that we have a little bit more options in finishing. Players get a chance. We create chances, but the ball must be put in the net.”
While he is looking for solutions, he cautioned about the gap in standards.
“I tell you, the pace in the local league and international is a different level. And the other players need to get match fitness. They need to get into their first teams, start playing.”
Despite the disappointing campaign, Nees insists the only option is to persevere.
“We have no other option than to continue to work [hard], when we have more training, work on finishing... I'm sure if you put the ball in the net, suddenly it releases energy. And we need that. We need that really. And we can only continue. Training. Working on it at clubs and when they come to the national team.”
The Warriors finished bottom of Group C with 5 points from 10 matches, comprising five draws and five losses.
