South Africa may have taken a clear break from the field of six teams in Group C of the World Cup qualifying series after beating Benin Republic 2-0 away from home while the  Super Eagles were frustrated with a 1-1 draw at home in the duel with Zimbabwe.

Barring the decision of FIFA regarding their fielding of an ineligible player in a matchday 5 duel with Lesotho last week, South Africa have amassed 13 points nearly twice the seven that the Super Eagles have been able to gather.

The Super Eagles were cruising to a 1-0 lead that could have cushioned a second place for them after Victor Osimhen put them ahead in the 74th minute.

Laxity suddenly crept in while they were playing for time. Zimbabwe latched on and scored a 90th-minute goal that tumbled Nigeria from a possible second position to fourth.

 Just before Zimbabwe’s Tawanda Chirewa scored the equaliser, Lesotho had offered a helping hand levelling at 1-1 in the corresponding match with Rwanda.

  Nigeria now have to look forward to the next match, still at home, against Rwanda in August. At that time, Lesotho will be playing their home match against South Africa in South Africa.

Benin will be at home against bottom-placed Zimbabwe. Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Jordan Zemura, the Italia Serie A Udinese player who assisted in the two goals Zimbabwe scored against Benin Republic is the man that the Warriors of Zimbabwe will rely on in the Group C World Cup qualifying match with Nigeria this Tuesday.

He is believed to be very familiar with the strength and skills of Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen.

He had encountered both players in club games in Italy. Lookman plays for Atalanta and Osimhen was previously with Napoli.

Zemura is guaranteed a starting position in the match with Nigeria. However, according to information gleaned from local newspapers in Harare, the role to be assigned to him is not clear.

He himself told a Zimbabwean journalist currently in Uyo that his team would attempt to neutralise the dangerous combination of Lookman and Osimhen.

“Lookman at Atalanta is a very talented player. We also know that Osimhen is one of the best strikers in the world,”  Zemura is quoted by Zimbabwe’s The Herald as saying.

“So playing against them atclub football is also very difficult. There is a lot of focus on these players because of how good they are and how effective they are in games.”

For that reason, coach Michael Nees may be forced to consider Nigeria’s quality in attack and its abilities which come with devastating effects against any African opposition.
 The thinking in the Zimbabwean camp is to make defender, Divine Lunga attempt to pocket either Osimhen or Lookman.

The choice of the defender is premised on his perceived ability to cope with possible relentless Super Eagles attack

Zemura will be asked to take up one of the attacking places. According to Zimbabwean analysts,  Tawanda Chirewa, Tawanda Maswanhise, and Walter Musona all started on the bench.

The analysis went further that Zemura is unlikely to be intimidated by Nigeria’s attack.

Against Rwanda, Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen led the attack, and Moses Simon and Samuel Chukwueze added to the danger down the flanks.

Zemura, according to reports,  said he was ready to play wherever Coach Nees decided to play him, for as long as it helped the team for good results.

“Since I have been here with the Warriors, I have been playing everywhere, from left back, to central midfield, up front. So, yeah. I feel comfortable doing that and I quite enjoy it,” he said.

“The one thing that my father used to tell me when I was young was to be versatile and be able to play in many different positions.

“And also to feel comfortable in any position that you are asked to play so you can help the team in different ways,” said Zemura.

Zemura speaks from a position of authority, having faced Atalanta’s Lookman while Osimhen was at Napoli when the Zimbabwean joined Udinese for the 2023/24 season.

Although Lookman mostly plays wide on the left at Atalanta, his position in Nigeria’s attack means he can easily drift wide right as they seek to harm the Warriors.

“Both these players are very effective and it’s gonna be a challenge to keep them quiet. But we are ready for that challenge, and we will do everything that we can,” said Zemura.

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Tunisia left it late but secured a crucial 2-0 win over a stubborn Malawi side to tighten their grip at the top of Group H in the 2026 FIFA World Cup African qualifiers, while Ethiopia undoubtedly revived their campaign with a stunning 6-1 rout of Djibouti in Group A.

Seifeddine Jaziri came off the bench to break Malawi’s resistance with a headed goal in the 86th minute before Elias Achouri sealed the victory with a stoppage-time penalty.

The Carthage Eagles were frustrated for much of the match by a well-drilled Malawi defence and needed late interventions to secure all three points.

Jaziri, introduced in the 78th minute by Tunisia head coach Sami Trabelsi, took just eight minutes to justify his selection, connecting with a cross to beat goalkeeper William Thole, who had been outstanding throughout the contest.

Achouri’s penalty in the 92nd minute put the result beyond doubt after Malawi, desperate to rescue a point, conceded a foul in the box.

There was still late drama as Malawi were awarded a penalty deep into added time, but Aymen Dahmen guessed correctly to deny Richard Mbulu from the spot.

The result sees Tunisia move to 13 points from five matches, four ahead of second-placed Namibia who were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea earlier in the day.

Ethiopia explode into life in Group A

In Group A, Ethiopia served up one of the most dominant performances of the qualifiers so far, thrashing Djibouti 6-1 to register their first win of the campaign in spectacular style.

Hat-tricks from Bereka Desta and Abubeker Nassir lit up the Stade Ben M’Hamed El Abdi in El Jadida, Morocco, as the Walya Antelopes turned on the style against a hapless Djibouti defence.

Desta opened the scoring in the 19th minute and added further strikes in the 52nd and 70th minutes.

Nassir wasn’t to be outdone, netting in the 34th, 37th, and 58th minutes to complete a devastating display of attacking football.

Djibouti, now with just a single point from six games, had a brief moment of hope when Samuel Akinbinu pulled a goal back in the 51st minute.

But that proved to be a mere consolation as Ethiopia ran riot to climb to fourth place in the group standings, although they remain seven points behind leaders Egypt, who have a game in hand.

It was a statement win from Mesay Teferi’s side, who had struggled in earlier fixtures but will now hope to carry momentum into the final stretch of qualifying.

With two matchdays remaining, both Tunisia and Ethiopia have given their fans renewed hope – the former eyeing a return to the World Cup, and the latter showing they may yet have a say in Group A’s final outcome.

-CAF

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