Former Arsenal midfielder, Alex Iwobi praised the Zimbabwean team, the Warriors, and Coach Baltemar Brito for their tactics in the 1-1 draw against Nigeria in a World Cup qualifier.
Walter Musona scored a wonderful freekick for Zimbabwe, which was later equalised by Kelechi Ihenacho. Despite being favourites, Nigeria had to work hard for the draw. Zimbabwe had several missed opportunities and Nigeria was fortunate to come away with a point.
Iwobi, a former Everton player, acknowledged that Zimbabwe played well and deserved the result. The Fulham player said:
We have to give credit to them.
Of course, it is easy for them when they get the first goal, so they can just sit back and defend.
And of course, they have the tactics to try and waste time and disrupt our tempo, so it favoured them. But yeah, credit to them, they are a good side but with the players we have, we should have done much better.
The first half wasn’t good enough for us. The second half was better so we must look at that, analyse and see where we can do better. This is just a start, and I would say to the Nigerian fans, stick by us because we will continue to fight.
The midfielder attributed their below-par performance against Zimbabwe to fatigue. Nigeria had previously played a match against Lesotho just a day before Zimbabwe’s game against Rwanda. They had to endure a four-hour flight to Kigali and a three-hour road trip to Butare. Iwobi admitted that the travel was challenging but emphasised that they should not use it as an excuse. He expressed disappointment in their two draws in the World Cup qualifiers but remained determined to qualify for the tournament. Nigeria’s next qualifier is against South Africa in June next year.