Jose Peseiro Reveals Why Super Eagles Drew With Zimbabwe

The head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Jose Peseiro, has blamed his players’s failure to exhibit the right amount of energy for his team’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Zimbabwe on Sunday.

Jose Peseiro led his team to Rwanda to take on Zimbabwe in the second 2026 World Cup qualifiers and to the dismay of many football enthusiasts, the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Just like in the first game of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers between Nigeria and Lesotho, Zimbabwe scored the match opener before the Super Eagles fought back for the equalizer.

In reaction to the Super Eagles’ performance in the game against Zimbabwe, coach Jose Peseiro stressed that his team lost so much energy due to their flight from Nigeria to Rwanda.

He also emphasized that injured players like Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi, Taiwo Awoniyi, Samuel Chukwueze, and others contributed to his team’s disappointing performance.

The coach said: “It was difficult and the trip from the flight to the bus, was many hours. The players have not had a good rest. The draw was better but I can’t say anything more. The first half was bad and the second half was better. The off energy from my team was much”.

He continued: “Injuries can happen in the national team, Ndidi, Osimhen, Zaidu, Taiwo and a lot were missing but I think we have enough team. Somehow, it can happen but I think we have a team to beat Zimbabwe. The key point for me was the off energy”.

After two abysmal draws in the 2026 World Cup qualification series, the Super Eagles are currently second in Group C with two points, a point behind first-placed South Africa who has played just a game so far in the qualifiers.