Warriors coach Baltemar Brito was impressed with the team’s performance in their 0-0 draw against Rwanda in Wednesday’s opening match of Group C of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.

The game marked the first time the Warriors played a competitive match since the lifting of the FIFA ban in July.

Speaking after the match, Brito said: “The performance was good since we arrived here with a few players before others joined us later.

“We didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for this game, but I think we still performed well.

“We came here and collected a point and a clean-sheet, and this are the positives we are taking. This is a new era for the Zimbabwean football.”

Explaining why he started some players like Tino Kadewere on the bench, Brito said:

“Tino was one of the players that arrived hours before the kick off. Of course, we know him very well but you take first the players that you have trained with. The boy had a long journey, but we thank him for the contribution he made in the last 20 minutes of the game.”

Zimbabwe will “host” Nigeria in their second qualifying match at the same venue on Sunday.