Adebayo Gbadebo, a former Nigeria international and ex-Stationery Stores of Lagos midfielder, has handed out a strong caution to the Super Eagles against taking Zimbabwe for granted in Tuesday’s crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier billed for the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Exclusivenews.com.ng reports.
Gbade, now a coach based in Thailand, spoke exclusively to Exclusivenews.com.ng on Sunday, insisting that much as the Nigerian national team is loaded to the brim with experienced players plying their trades in some of the biggest clubs and leagues in Europe and still savouring their huge 2-0 win in Kigali on Friday, there’s a need for the team to stay cool, focused and concentrate on Tuesday’s fixture.
He reckoned the qualifying series has reached the business end and as such, Super Eagles cannot afford to take Zimbabwe for granted, moreso because Zimbabwe are a much stronger team than Rwanda, going by their performance in Friday’s game against Benin Republic where they came from 0-2 to tie the game at 2-2.
“The Super Eagles cannot afford to take Zimbabwe for granted or underrate them”, Gbadebo cautioned.
“This is because, they fight back. They have some experienced and foreign based players amongst them who play in top clubs and top leagues abroad unlike Rwanda who most of their players still ply their international trades in the African continent.
“The Zimbabwean players are more matured and more experienced than Rwanda but the Super Eagles must have to shut the game out from them, never to let them control the game from the start till the final whistle.
“Its only then that we can rejoice for yet another three points in the bag. The Super Eagles players should keep their head down, remain focused, working very hard together through out the game, from the attack, the defence and the midfield.
“There shouldn’t be any loophole that the opponents may exploit. They should work hard in a compact way to force the Zimbabweans out of the places where they can make our defence to make mistakes. I look forward to a successful and glorious match for the Super Eagles on Tuesday”.
The dark-hued gaffer congratulated the three time African Champions following Fridays emphatic win against Rwanda in Kigali which has reinforced Nigeria’s push for a possible seventh FIFA World Cup finals qualification despite a poor start to the campaign.
“First, let me use this opportunity to congratulate the Super Eagles for the great result that they got in Rwanda. I know that when the pressure is high, the big boys always show their worth. So, I want to say a big congratulations to all members of the team and the officials. Good job! Good three points”!
He expressed confidence that the team can win all the remaining five games in the qualification race, insisting that 15 points in the five games is all it takes for the team to seal their place in the expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup finals to staged, for the first time in history, in three countries—Mexico, USA, Canada.
“Yes, the journey has just started. Three point in each game, 15 points in all the remaining five games. The next match at home is also three points and that’s what will keep us ahead.
“With the result in Rwanda, the team spirit is now high and that will help them in the next game on Tuesday against Zimbabwe. I know there isn’t gonna be time for the team to train a lot. But I believe the coach knows what to do. He’s seen the team. I believe he may start same way he started against Rwanda, or may be, add a little balance.
“He wouldn’t want to do a lot of thing that might complicate his team structure. I think he may have seen the Zimbabwean team. Unlike the Rwandan team, the Zimbabwean team has some strong and quality players in their attack who run behind defenders.
“So we need to watch out for this because it can cause a lot of danger because, in the Rwanda match, what the Rwandan players did much more was to keep possession at their defense and always trying to penetrate through the line but they didn’t do through.
“The Zimbabweans are different. They do some kind of penetration which makes it advisable for the Super Eagles backline to be more compact and more purposeful to avoid any unnecessary gap that the Zimbabweans could exploit. Also, the Super Eagles should quickly shut down the midfield so as not to let them (Zimbabwe) make the defensive pass through with their penetrative passes. All in all, Super Eagles, from the goalkeeper to Victor Osimhen, Super Eagles have players that are in good shape, in form and ready to play”
Coach Gbadebo reckons that Tuesday’s match against Zimbabwe inside the ‘Nest of Champions’, Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, will be an effort to accomplish what they started in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday.
“Yes, the match is at home and I also know the work is not yet fully done even though they did a part of it on Friday with the win in Kigali against Rwanda. We know the Super Eagles players are experienced and exposed enough to deal with tension and pressure because they are all big players and know how to deal with it.
“I just want to wish them and every spectator that will troop to the stadium on Tuesday to support the team, a glorious time. All in all, we’ve to be very focused. We’ve to concentrate and also not to give gap; you can see what Zimbabwe did against Benin Republic. They were 0-2 down but came back to tie the game at 2-2”.
