Completesports.com’s live blogging of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group C Matchday 6 clash between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Warriors of Zimbabwe at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.
Nigeria Vs Zimbabawe Live Blogging – 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier: Group C Matchday 6
Nnamdi Ezekute
Nnamdi Ezekute, a sports reporting expert, has risen through the ranks at Complete Communications Limited (CCL) famed for publications like Complete Sports.
Email: nnamdi.ezekute@completesportsnigeria.com
X (Formerly Twitter): @Ezekutive
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https://www.plus.fifa.com/en/content/20d1d704-3371-4c71-a564-f7ec4138542e?gl=gb&cid=(p_go-box)(c_fifaplus)(sc_wc-qual)(ssc_live)(l_)(ch_ma)(cc_tvandstreaming)&pid=(p_go-box)
Fly Eagles, fly!
SE wake up!
Where are those people abusing Osihmen? We Nigerians don’t respect our own.
We needed a midfielder not a striker!I was screaming for a midfielder to replace Osimhen obviously not a Boniface!We literally have just kissed the world Cup goodbye!!
We created lots of chances to kill this game but we didn’t take them.
Another thing I noticed when Osimhen leaves the pitch,the super eagles is toothless!!
Completely toothless! Boniface created the space for them to pile the pressure and eventually score.
Well, they’re out now!
This Ekong no sabi.
Once they brought in Boniface, I knew this game was over. Osimhen doesn’t just score; he helps with defense. Chukwuweze was another minus 1.
It is a shame that Victor Osimhen came with these generation of players. So sad that he has to bail them out of trouble all the time.
They really don’t deserve to go to the world cup.
Most of them are below average and at most, average players
Josh men. Great point as usual.
Had it been Zimbabwe came out to play they’d have scored more than once. Our defence was open, the few times they went forward they almost scored. Maybe that 3 man center back is the best we can do to address the hole in our defence.
Na wa for Ekong ooh…you for just ask the coach for substituion
Alright guys, we’re out. I don’t even have anything to say. Zimbabwe was always a threat going forward but we failed to address it, plus we didn’t even try to frustrate them by delaying the game. Well, let’s go and support Ghana at the WC next year.
Nigeria will continue to struggle as long as players are not put in the right position. Some players are past due in the super eagles.
Bright Osayi should not be playing right back for Nigeria he was the weakest link in the team throughout the match.
If we continue t rely on Iwobi with tired Ndidi. Nigeria will continue to lose matches she sould be winning. Why is Iwobi in the team if he can’t defeónd.
Lookmon is more pro
ductive playing from the left. I short they dont 6 my deserve to be at the world cup.
We welcome our junior brothers
If South Africa doesn’t lose the point…..I think the fight is between them and Rwanda
It is a shame that Victor Osimhen came with these generation of players. So sad that he has to bail them out of trouble all the time.
They really don’t deserve to go to the world cup.
Most of them are below average and at most, average players
Please don’t blame this coach at alllllllllllllllll….Except thunder wan strike you. Blame is solely on Ekong. In such games you defend to the death of the whistle.
Boss, the coach too suppose chop blame. After near misses from Zimbabwe, and with few mins to go, why not lock up? We needed an extra defender or defensive midfielder especially after the bar saved us. We kept playing with 2 midfielders
The blame is not with the coach. The blame is with the players. They are not prepared to fight for anything, not even this world cup ticket. Even if you bring Pep Guadiola to coach the super eagles this current set of players will mess him up
It seems we have gone back to the era of using calculators or praying for point deductions
Even calculator won’t work this time around.
It saddens that even with this WC expansion, we are not going to be there. Now, this coach has seen what his predecessors faced with these bunch of average players. I was afraid they would equalize in the end and they surely did. I was concerned that these our 4 man defence has been known with many errors and easy penetration, now they displayed their foolishness today. I pity the coach, he came at the worng time when they have destroyed everything. Zimbabwe definitely came to play for SA victory and qualification and they achieved it with these nonsense players we got.
It was not just meant to be for naija super eagles this evening
Kudos to all of dem
World cup no get expiring date
The next time better starting this was gernot rohr philosophy during his days with us , the pressure was immense on our players due to series of poor results from the beginning
This coach is good…
When we tell them that Ekong can not play in a back four, they will not hear. You can not cheat your way to success, No! you have to earn it.
If Papa Daniel is so good, how come the coach did not have the courage to play him. Where is Joe Aribo, the dazzling midfield maestro? …..lol . Eric allowed himself to be misled . Belleface ….lol the scenes!!!
There is no way that Zimbabwe player gets past Ogbu, absolutely no way!
Eventually, the chicken came home to roost. With 6 points behind, it is safe to say we are out of world cup. Osimhen does not deserve it and Ndidi was the best Nigerian player on the pitch.
I will not allow this pipo to kee me.
If we can’t beat Zimbabwe at home, wetin we dey find for world cup? Another day, another bitter disappointment.
Once again, Uyo proves to be a “banana skin” for us. We keep slipping over there. A world class stadium that seems to be a jinxed location for Nigeria!
Funny thing is we dominated the game, won most of the 50-50 balls. But having the lackluster, witless Moses Simon on the flank was what did us in. We kept trying to move the ball thru Simon, who was clueless and hapless! He kept running into a resolute wall of Zim defenders. They had obviously done their homework, and knew how to stop him. And stop him they did. Ad nauseum. He couldn’t dribble to save his life, and couldn’t deliver crosses into the box. And crucially, he lacked the imagination to do something different. He kept doing the same thing, and they kept slamming the door in his face!
Our passing game was good, until it got to the final third, where it invariably broke down. If the ball gets to Simon, it’s over before it has a chance to begin. If it gets to Lookman or another forward, we run out of ideas. The final pass was always either too long or too short! You have 2 tall, strong strikers, but no quality deliveries into the box!
Looks like Osimhen will have to watch the world cup from his living room TV a second time. Even if it was possible for Nigeria to qualify, do we really want these bunch representing us at the mundial? Dead body go surplus. Emergency room go fill up with patients. Better for us to be eliminated now, than for us to go to the world cup to collect! Me I don taya.
If Omo Mali is sacked, the buffoons that hired him MUST GO WITH HIM. The entire NFF board and the useless Technical Director must all go!!!
To think they haven’t won any WCQ match in that stadium. 1-1 with Lesotho, SA, and now Zimbabwe.
Befuddling!
I am speechless
These players are an apology except Osimhen
Even if SA got 3pts deduction, they still gonna be on 10pts, ekong and nwabali, u both are to blame for this draw.
This match showed that our problem all along has been the problem of players 80% to 90% of these players dont deserve to be playing for super eagles. They dont have the zeal and character. To make matters worse they are not good enough.
NFF also bungled our world cup chances by appoint coaches whose leg were just too small for world cup shoes. Hence, our present world cup predicament.
Mediocres dont go to world cup and majority of these players are truly mediocres.
Onye Raphael, hope una eyes don clear, always hyping a meaningless midfielder, onyeka would have done better in keeping the Zimbabweans out of the ball, I thought this coach have learnt that you can’t take out Iwobi out of our midfield, every coaches that removed Iwobi paid dearly for it, how on earth can you remove your best midfielder, Iwobi played up till extra time in the English fa cup against Manchester.
instead of him to remove lookman or Simon to add a midfielder making it three man he kept ndidi with an amateur onyedika, osayi is not supposed to play ahead of Bruno, how can you play two inverted wingers and wing backs at the same time. How will you get crosses for ur lanky strikers.
For me the players did well to force a goal. It was the coach that spoilt the game.
His game management was bad,.
He havnt learned from Mali quarterfinal exit, na wah for wagadugu.
A smart coach would even bring in ogbu to make three man defense and keep a three man midfield to shut down the game, instead he was zuzuring with meaningless subs. Nigeria havnt won any match in uyo in this qualifiers, balogun is still better than Ekong, worldcup otilor.
We have to blame this coach too abeg. We have blamed Eguavoen and Finidi, he needs to be blamed. First the tactics was not that different from precious, second, he kept Osayi known to be an average player and below par throught the match. I wonder what Morinho sees in him. Thrid, he brought in Boniface instead of closing up with a midfilder or defence. He got the substitution wrong except Tolu. He is still a learner on the job with these super eagles players that can dissapaoint.
Loooooooool, can’t stop laughing. WHy didn’t they pour water on his head, thought the noise was that he would make the team play attacking football. Can some honestly tell us what was different from the previous teams parading same players. When you start begging foreign born players who come to play gentleman game, you get nothing at the end of the day. With all the hyping here and there, same old below average players, except oshimen
The irony of it all is that it’s largely the same players that fumbled the qatar 2022 race that is ruining the current campaign
Lesson not learned