Nigeria-born Coach, Adebayo Gbadebo, has told Exclusivenews.com.ng that Super Eagles will still qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals despite the disappointing 1-1 draw against Zimbabwe in Tuesday's group C matchday 6 clash in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Gbadebo, who holds the enviable record as first African with the AFC PRO Coaching License, spoke from his in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday, saying he remains shrewdly confident that Nigeria will be part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup showpiece in Mexico/USA/Canada despite Tuesday's disappointing draw against the East African nation.

"Absolutely yes. You never can tell what could happen to the number one team (group leaders). May be they could lose at away or at home. 

"They are still going to play Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe are trickish. Rwanda are also gearing up. All the other teams are also going to gear up. So there are still opportunities for us to qualify even if we're not going to emerge tops in the group. 

"The players know the need to step up their game and really show their worth, at least by coming out second in the group. That would be an honourable thing to do. So, we still have hope of going to the World Cup, so we still need to fire up. If Zimbanwe who were right at the bottom of the group C table before Tuesday's game are not giving up, I think that we, Nigeria, should not give up", Gbadebo, a graduate of University of Ibadan and current Manager/Head Coach of Thailand Premier League club, Suphanburi FC said.

Reflecting on the Super Eagles/Warriors of Zimbabwe match, the first African Manager and Head Coach in Asian Premier League noted that Super Eagles were slow in the first half of the gritty contest, adding that they were also predictable in their decisions.

"It's a challenge that we've  anytime the Super Eagles are playing a low-block team", the former Nigeria international lamented. 

"The moment the Zimbabweans started defending low block, the Super Eagles had a lot of difficulties penetrating through because Super Eagles players movements were a lot slow. The players were not doing enough of interchange. The only players that were trying to play between the lines were (Alex) Iwobi (sometimes) and Ademola Lookman who was doing it often and almost got some shots at goal. 

"We needed more penetration in the game but all we saw Super Eagles doing was pulling out from left and right when the Zimbabweans were doing their own low block which is what they expect already. 

"This is very predictable. We could have done a lot of damage by playing between the lines and making quick passes and unpredictable decisions. Again, Super Eagles were too slow in the first half in their approach, taking things so calmly. 

"Ofcourse, its not as if they didn't do anything  significant in the game. The Super Eagles did something good as well which was regaining possession almost immediately they lost the ball. When they take it back, it's that time they should have destabilised the Zimbabweans. 

"The Eagles also were very good in counter-pressing, which I really want to appreciate our team for. But when they got the ball they slow down the attack. The moment Zimbabweans were disorganised, that's when we're supposed to do the damage.

"We started seeing more urgency in the team in the second half. It was then that we began to put a lot more pressure. But the pace was just too slow in the first half. If the Super Eagles had been a bit more faster in the first half, they would have caused them a lot of harm".

The 1988 Sociology graduate of University of Ibadan lamented the eventual outcome of the match against Zimbabwe, recalling that he had earlier cautioned against the Zimbabweans treachery upfront and their counter attacking play.

"For me, it's something that I had earlier cautioned that we really need to be wary of. This is because the Zimbabweans are always flashy and run in behind  defence lines in the final third. 

"And each time they were able to put the ball through there's always a danger which I had already talked about because the Super Eagles were playing a flat four, which is probably a challenge for the defence that we have. 

"With the character of players we've at the back, I think we're more comfortable with back three. It depends on what the coachplay and what he's seeing. But he can't change that now. I think this is what happened in that game. Its not a good result. It's also not a fantastic game like the game against Rwanda. I think we've the ability and what it takes to do the job but the thing is that we couldn't just do the job which is now a big challenge to our qualification. 

"My take on the draw is that its not a good result because we wanted the maximum points. I speak like this as a patriotic Nigerian. But as a coach, I also believe that all hope is not yet lost. Its good that we didn't lose the game and we still have four games, yes, 12 points to play for. 

"South Africa, Rwanda, Benin, who are above us now on the table, any of them can still slip. There could be more twists and turns in the remaining games ahead. This is football, we need to brace up, anything can still happen".