The clock is ticking towards the Warriors of Zimbabwe's 2026 World Cup qualifier against Benin at the Alassane Quattara Stadium in the Ivory Coast on September 5.
And another on September 9 against Rwanda at the Orlando Stadium in South Africa -- a stadium which Zimbabwe is using as a home as the Warriors do not have a home of their own.
The Warriors will still play Lesotho and South Africa in their outstanding 2026 World Cup qualifiers before traveling to Morocco for the finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
We could have been speaking of these World Cup qualifiers in high esteem had we not allowed ourselves to fall out of the race for World Cup 2026 by losing to of all teams, Lesotho.
The three points we lost to Lesotho and the two points we dropped in the drawn match against Benin could have seen us on nine points, four points behind group leaders, South Africa, with four matches still to be played.
We could have been a point above Rwanda, two above the Super Eagles of Nigeria, three above Benin, and six above Lesotho who were deemed no hopers before the qualifying process began.
This could had been the ideal situation had we not shot ourselves in the foot by firing Baltermar Brito as Warriors coach and then experimenting with Jairos Tapera when stability was what was required.
Although there is no guarantee that Brito could have won the matches in question, it was the timing of his dismissal and the desperate nature of finding his replacement that did put us where we are today.
As we reflect on what could have been, we should also remain focused on our World Cup Qualifiers and treat them with the same importance like when we were still in the run for a place at the finals themselves.
We should treat each and every match with the seriousness it deserves rather than to donate points in a manner that would raise suspicions of match fixing.
These World Cup qualifiers are followed with interest the world over and every performance is scrutinised with intense and the Warriors should put 100 percent effort in order to safeguard their reputation.
What we are simply saying is that we should not treat these matches as dead rubbers but real competitive matches because they have a bearing on who qualifies to represent Africa at World Cup 2026.
After all, these are the only matches in which we will come to know who exactly Michael Nees is taking to Afcon 2025 and what sort of play to expect basing from the team's performance in the World Cup qualifiers.
The qualifiers will also give Nees the opportunity to fine tune his combinations after experimenting too much with too many new players in friendly matches gone by.
Nees should also be reminded that the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers will contribute significantly to world ranking updates and should be used to help the Warriors climb up the ladder both in Africa and on the globe.
We expect -- in the World Cup qualifiers -- to see the Warriors we are going to watch at Afcon 2025 so that we have a rough idea of their style of play and what to expect at Afcon.
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