Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo in Druban South Africa
ZIMBABWE might be sitting right at the foot of their 2026 World Cup qualification group but utility star Jordan Zemura knows nothing is lost, as yet.
The Warriors, on two points, trail pool leaders Rwanda by five points, after four games.
But they have the chance to tilt their situation inside the next five days.
They host Benin at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban here tomorrow before they travel to face Nigeria, who are only a point above them, on Tuesday next week.
Benin jointly top the group but they have an inferior goal difference to Rwanda.
Coach Michael Nees has already urged his players to tighten their seat belts ahead of the Benin showdown.
And Zemura believes the Warriors can still go on to claim a spot at next year’s fiesta ahead of the other five teams in the group provided they can string together good performances coupled with positive results.
All that has to start against Benin in the beautiful city of Durban.
“We are obviously in a not-so-ideal situation as far as these World Cup qualifiers are concerned.
“We are coming from the first four games where we failed to perform well.
“This is not a good position that we find ourselves in. But then, we have six more games to play and 18 points to fight for. That makes it only fair for us to also give ourselves a chance especially looking at where the rest of the group sits,” said Zemura.
“Only five points separate us with the pacesetters in the group. But then looking at the number of games we have to play, that’s a lot.
“What we need to do is put our all into it. We need to throw in our maximum in terms of energy and concentration.
“The details, huge and small, matter a lot. Attention is everything now.”
The Udinese stars said Benin is never to be underrated given they are firmly in the mix for the World Cup slot.
“If you look at the composition of their squad, you get to have a full appreciation of who they really are.
“They have a number of players enjoying good form at different top leagues across the world including the Germany Bundesliga which is undoubtedly one of the best leagues on the planet.
“You gotta respect those players and the team in general. They are jointly leading the group that we are anchoring and that says a lot about their pedigree.
“I have never played against Benin personally and I guess the majority of my teammates haven’t as well.
“But we do have a rough idea of how they play. We will try to be compact and get going. The most important thing to do right now is to get started. We haven’t won in four games so we obviously need to get that spark and see how things will turn out for us. At the end of the day, what we want to do is fight, fight and see what happens.”
Zemura also expressed excitement over the return of former captain Knowledge Musona into the fold from international retirement.
Musona is back in the team after he was convinced by Nees to reconsider his retirement.
“Knowledge is a definite gem. He is an important part of the puzzle and the group is quite happy to have him around again,” added Zemura.
“He will bring the experience and expertise that we want to help us in our desire to qualify for the World Cup.”
