Michael Nees to name his men

Eddie Chikamhi

Zimpapers Sports Hub

The domestic football family will today turn the spotlight on Warriors coach Michael Nees, who is expected to end weeks of speculation and anxiety when he announces the squad to face Group C opponents Benin and Nigeria in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying assignments.

Following a long spell of inactivity since the Warriors’ last competitive assignment against Cameroon in Yaoundé in November 2024, there has been speculation on who could make the senior side’s squad for the resumption of the World Cup qualification bid.

The Warriors are billed to host Benin at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on March 20 before travelling to Nigeria to face the Super Eagles at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo five days later.

Nees has been tracking both the local and foreign-based players ahead of the resumption of the competition.

However, the German is faced with some selection dilemmas following knocks to some key players, including skipper Marvelous Nakamba, veteran goalkeeper Washington Arubi, defender Brendan Galloway, and midfielder Andy Rinomhota.

Forwards Bill Antonio (Belgium) and France-based forward Tino Kadewere have already been ruled out due to long-term injuries. On the local front, talismanic forward Khama Billiat is back from injury, and he played 63 minutes in Scottland’s 2-0 win over CAPS United at Rufaro last Sunday.

The 34-year-old, who displayed flashes of brilliance but did not look 100 percent fit, had missed Scottland’s debut Premiership game against Triangle.

Nees could be forced to gamble on the local players, most of whom are yet to reach their peak as the season has just started.

The German coach has been watching the local games in the hope of getting a better appreciation of the players.

But there is little hope with some of the foreign legion battling knocks. Warriors captain Nakamba, who has been troubled by recurrent injuries in the last few seasons, has been confirmed unavailable for the two games against Benin and Nigeria.

Luton Town boss Matt Bloomfield revealed that Nakamba was set to be out of action for at least six weeks with a calf injury he picked up during an English Championship match at the end of January.

Nakamba has made 21 league appearances this season after returning from a long-term knee injury, which he incurred in August last year, but the problem resurfaced in October, when the Warriors played against Namibia in back-to-back 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in Johannesburg.

Nees has since revealed that should the Warriors doctors also confirm skipper Nakamba unfit for the Benin and Nigeria assignments, his deputy Marshall Munetsi will lead the team.

Munetsi appears to also have had an injury scare when his new club Wolves drew 1-1 with Everton at the weekend, in which the versatile midfielder grabbed his side’s leveller.

Another England-based player, Rinomhota, has missed at least two outings for Cardiff City since picking up a hamstring injury against Burnley on March 4.

Although it had been hoped it was not a serious knock, Rinomhota was left out when his team played Sunderland last night.

But what is clear is that Plymouth Argyle defender Galloway will not be making the trip back home as he has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

In-form Huddersfield midfielder Tawanda Chirewa should also bounce back into the reckoning after fully recovering from the injuries that blighted his loan spell at Derby County.

Kadewere suffered a thigh injury in November and missed 17 of Nantes’ games in the French Ligue 1.

He was also conspicuous by his absence from the last Warriors Nations Cup assignments against Kenya and Cameroon in November 2024.

Although the 29-year-old has been cleared to return to full action, he was not included in the Nantes’ squad for Sunday’s match against Strasbourg but could be selected for the next game against Lille.

Goalkeeper Arubi, who has been the mainstay of this Zimbabwe team, combining his experience and ability to lead the Warriors to some positive outings, is another big doubt.

The 39-year-old South Africa-based player has been nursing a knock that he suffered in a Betway Premiership match against Orlando Pirates early this month.

There have been indications, however, that Arubi is on the mend amid calls from some agents for Nees to consider Elvis Chipezeze, who has been reviving his career at Magesi in the South African Premiership.

With the Benin and Nigeria coaches, Gernot Rohr and Eric Chelle, having named their final squads this week, Nees’ announcement today will also be closely followed in the West African countries.

Nees has an unenviable task of trying to rescue a campaign that went off the rails for the Warriors from the start, with Zimbabwe managing just two points from four games.

Zimbabwe managed two draws under Baltemar Brito in matches against Rwanda and Nigeria before it got worse with another interim coach, Jairos Tapera, presiding over a pair of defeats to Lesotho and South Africa. The Warriors now anchor Group C and are five points behind leaders Rwanda, who are tied on seven points together with Benin and South Africa.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles are just like Zimbabwe, under pressure to revive their campaign as they are second from bottom with three points while Lesotho’s Crocodiles have five.