Warriors head coach Michael Nees has said there are no dead rubbers in international football, as Zimbabwe aim to end their 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on a high when they face Lesotho in Polokwane on Monday.
After nine matches and five draws, the Warriors remain the only team in Group C yet to record a win in the ongoing qualifiers.
Zimbabwe’s 0-0 draw with South Africa in Durban on Friday has given fans hope that victory is within reach ahead of the final qualifier against Lesotho.
Lesotho, currently second from bottom in the group with nine points, will be looking to complete a rare double over Zimbabwe after winning the reverse fixture 2-0 in Johannesburg.
Speaking ahead of the match, Nees said the game is a chance for the Warriors to fine-tune their squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, and added that a win would also improve the country’s position in the FIFA rankings. He said:
“I think if we can take the same spirit we had in the match against South Africa, we can manage to win against Lesotho.
“I have said before that every match is an opportunity for us to fine-tune for the Africa Cup of Nations and this is one of those games.
“We need to win and have national pride somehow. These matches are also determined to rank national teams so we are in it to win.
“My players have shown so much hunger in this final phase of qualification.
“Yes, we will not qualify for the World Cup at this juncture even if we beat Lesotho but the result will be very big from what we want to achieve.
“We played well against South Africa even when we knew we were not going to qualify anymore.
“That competitive spirit helped us pick that point against South Africa.
“The same competitive spirit can help us win against Lesotho.
“There are no dead rubbers in international football. We will do our best to improve and win the match.”
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