Zimbabwe head coach Michael Nees says that while his side has nothing left to play for in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, they still have their dignity to protect — and will not make it easy for South Africa to collect three points on a silver platter.

Despite being out of the running for qualification to next year’s FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, the Warriors have shown intent by setting up camp in Durban since Sunday, unlike Bafana Bafana, who will only arrive in Durban on Thursday.

Zimbabwe will face Bafana Bafana at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday (18:00) in what is a crucial encounter for South Africa, who still have a realistic chance of reaching the World Cup.

For the Warriors, the journey is already over — they sit bottom of Group C with four points after eight matches.

Bafana Bafana, meanwhile, need six points from their remaining two matches — against Zimbabwe on Friday and Rwanda next Tuesday — while hoping that Benin drops points in one of their fixtures.

However, Nees made it clear that no favours will be handed to South Africa, even though Zimbabwe has been hosting their “home” matches in the country.

“Everybody is responsible for their own situation; we are responsible for ours,” said Nees.

South Africa complicated their qualification path after being docked three points by FIFA for fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, during their 2–0 victory over Lesotho in March. Mokoena was suspended for that match after accumulating two yellow cards before that game, triggering a one-match suspension. As SAFA failed to keep records, that resulted in Lesotho being awarded a 3–0 victory and three points.

The deduction saw Bafana drop from the top of Group C, where they had 17 points, to second place, as Benin moved to the summit on goal difference.

“If they want, we can swap positions — I have no problem,” joked Nees. “We can change the game to Harare, we can change the points on the table, I wouldn’t mind!”

Turning serious, Nees added: “Everybody is responsible for his own situation. We have to focus on ourselves. We can’t qualify anymore, but that doesn’t mean our heads are in the sand.

“We know what we can still work on — we can build belief and deliver strong performances.

“We have a talented squad with a good mix of experience and youth, both locally based players and those playing abroad.

“I believe by December, we’ll have an even stronger group. The May [June] window was mainly for testing players in friendly matches, and we agreed with the association to rest some key players due to the club-versus-country demands and the FIFA Club World Cup.”

While Bafana’s points deduction was a setback, if they don’t qualify outright by finishing top of Group C, they still have a lifeline through the playoff route, though it is ardous.

In the African qualifiers, only the group winners automatically qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the USA. The four best runners-up will advance to a playoff round, giving them a final opportunity to reach the global showpiece.