Yanga in a do-or-die playoff against Club Africain in Tunis
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s envoys in the CAF Confederation Cup, Young Africans (Yanga), today face an uphill task against Club Africain of Tunisia in the playoff return leg.
The encounter takes place at the Stade Olympique de Rades in Tunis at 8pm and will be officiated by Senegalese referees.
The centre referee is experienced Issa Sy, whose record shows that in 18 matches, he booked five players with red cards while warning 71 players with yellow cards.
This means that Yanga players will have to be very keen on tactical discipline in today’s match.
Sy will be assisted by Nouha Bangoura and El Hadji Abdoul Aziz Gueye while the fourth official will be Adalbert Diouf, all are the Senegalese nationals. The match commissioner is Khaled Ibrahim Mohamed Latif from Egypt.
CAF also appointed Ahmed Auda of Egypt to be the referee assessor while Tunisian Maher Zahar is the Covid -19 officer.
Yanga need a win or a 1-1 draw to qualify for the group stage of the competition or at least a barren draw in order for the match to be decided on penalty shootout.
Speaking yesterday, Yanga head coach Nasreddine Nabi said all of his players are in top form and ready to do their best in the clash.
He said they have studied their opponents’ playing styles and managed to prepare their technical approach, which, they expect, will give them a good result.
“It is going to be a tough match as we are facing one of the top teams on the continent. The players are in good shape targeting victory at the away venue despite facing tough opponents.
“It is a fact that the players know the importance of the match. Our target is to reach the last 16 and that is the only way to regain our respect,” said Nabi.