Zimbabwe Warriors head coach, Michael Nees, has revealed why his players gave their all in the goalless draw against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in Friday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying encounter at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban.
Backed by a sold-out crowd, the Warriors put up a spirited performance and were twice denied by the woodwork in a tense Group C contest.
Although Zimbabwe remain rooted at the bottom of the group with five points from nine games, Nees described the result as “mission accomplished,” noting that his players were motivated by pride and fairness rather than qualification hopes.
“The game showed that football can also be entertaining when no goals are scored. If every game would be like that I think everybody would always go home with a feeling of satisfaction for the money spent. It was a fight on a high level, with drama, yellow, red card questionable,” Nees said, as quoted by SABCSport.
“A very fair match, I think I didn’t see a single bad tackle with bad intentions when you think about what was discussed before, what was at stake. So, it was a really fair contest, we showed what we said.
“We want to be fair sportsmen, we give everything because it’s also important for the AFCON and for many other reasons and I think we showed that. We are a real team, sticking together.
“I was very impressed, especially after the yellow, red card, how we were fighting to the limit with a little bit of luck. We almost won the game but we must also admit, South Africa played very strong and they also had chances. I think between neighbours, it’s a good draw.”
Friday’s result was Zimbabwe’s fifth draw in the campaign, leaving them still searching for their first win with one game remaining. However, Nees viewed the display as a positive step toward their preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco later this year.
He also expressed his displeasure over the red card shown to forward Knowledge Musona in the 63rd minute, describing it as “questionable.”
“I saw it not the first time with the team, actually I saw many, many times. Yes the last two games we were a little bit, especially that game in Cote d’Ivoire, we could have done better,” Nees continued.
“Actually that’s what we need to expect from the team and also what they expect from themselves because I want to say it again, we don’t want to go to Morocco and be tourists there.
“We want New Year’s Eve in Marrakech because the second round starts in the new year and that is our ambition, our target. We are working towards that, it’s not always a smooth ride, it’s a little bit also up and down.
“But when you look at the long run, I don’t think many teams today could have come to South Africa in a fully packed stadium and gotten a draw. Especially with the yellow, red card, a very questionable one and we can be there for the performance, for the attitude, also for the skills, I’m satisfied.”
