No New Injury Concerns For Nees
Zimbabwe national football team coach Michael Nees is pleased to have a full squad with no new injury concerns ahead of Friday’s Group J 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Kenya at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, Uganda.
The match is set to kick off at 3 PM Central African Time and will be broadcast live on ZBC TV.
This will be Nees’s first match in charge of the Warriors, and he conducted the final training session at the match venue on Thursday afternoon.
On Wednesday, the team had its full complement for the first time, as defenders Jordan Zemura and Munashe Garan’anga, midfielder Andy Rinomhota, and goalkeeper Marley Tavaziva joined the rest of the squad. Said Nees:
Yesterday (on Wednesday), we had a full squad and we had a very good session and everything is on track so far.
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We can’t complain about everything from the hotel and transport though it is difficult because of the traffic but we are having a police escort so we only need 20 minutes to the training pitch.
Nees said they have been focusing on the mental aspect of the players to ensure they are in the right frame of mind for today’s match against the Harambee Stars and the upcoming game against the Indomitable Lions on Tuesday. He said:
We have to change a bit of our mentality. It’s always difficult with teams when you have your local best players who are used to different styles of play.
We just have to adjust a little bit and make sure we have the same psychological approach that is very important with a mix of local and outside players.
But when you have a group of players you will have to determine who will be on the pitch but I can tell you everybody can make an impact.
Everyone has been giving their best in the field, showing great attitude and it will be difficult to separate but only 11 can start.
But we need everybody as anything can happen in the game so we need everyone in the course of the two games.
We have players who have more experience as well as the youthful but they will have to complement each other such that they can change the game.
Notable absentees from the Warriors squad include England-based Brendan Galloway, captain Marvelous Nakamba, who is sidelined with a long-term knee injury, and France-based forward Tino Kadewere. None of these players travelled to Uganda for the match.
More: Pindula News
