By Sports Writer
ZIMBABWE national senior men’s soccer team, the Warriors coach, Michael Nees, is expected to announce his squad for the coming 2026 World Cup Qualifiers games this Wednesday
Zimbabwe is the only team in Group C, which is yet to release a provisional squad for the upcoming 2026 World Cup Qualifiers scheduled to be played next week.
The Warriors will host Benin at Moses Mabhidha Stadium March 20 before travelling to Nigeria for a clash against the Super Eagles five days later.
Already Benin and Nigeria have released their provisional squads for the coming qualifiers but the Warriors fans remain in mystery on who will feature for the national team this time around.
“The coach will finally announce his squad for the coming two games on Wednesday via a press conference.
“He should have done so last week but a number of issues and changes led to this delay.
“Amongst the key issues is injured players who had been drafted in the squad. So, the coach had to look for alternative options,” a source at ZIFA said.
A number of players are not available for the coming two fixtures due to injury set backs.
Amongst the players that have been ruled out is Warriors captain Marvellous Nakamba, who plays for Luton Town in the English Championship League.
Nakamba suffered a culf muscle injury that will see him out of action for six weeks.
Other than missing Nakamba, Nees will also miss the services of veteran goalkeeper Washington Arubi, who plays for Marumo Gallants in South Africa.
Arubi’s unavailability was confirmed by his club upon his call for international early this week.
The veteran goalie played a critical role in Nees’ AFCON Quualifiers campaign last year, as he conceded only four goals in six matches.
Adding on to Nees’ injury list is England-based defender Brandon Galloway is also out for the rest of the season as confirmed by his club Plymouth Arglye.
Zimbabwe is yet to win a match in the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers campaign, at the present moment they are seating bottom in the group with two points out of the four games they have played.
The upcoming two fixtures will be the first for Warriors coach in the campaign since his appointment in July last year.
Zimbabwe started its campaign under former Highlanders coach Baltermir Brito, who managed two points against Rwanda and Nigeria.
The team was then led by Manica Diamonds coach Jairos Tapera for the other two games against Lesotho and South Africa which they lost.
2026 World Cup Qualifiers Group C Standings
1)Rwanda = 7points
2)South Africa = 7 points
3)Benin = 7 points
4)Lesotho = 5 points
5)Nigeria = 3 points
6)Zimbabwe = 2 points
