Serengeti Girls face France in crucial World Cup match
Serengeti Girls train in India ahead of their Fifa World Cup encounter against France today. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The group D match has been scheduled to take place at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa, from 2pm Tanzania time
- The Tanzanian envoys face the must-win-game in order to revive their hope of qualifying for the knockout stage
Dar es Salaam. The u-17 national women’s football team, Serengeti Girls, today face France in their decisive encounter of group D in the ongoing FIFA World Cup in India.
The match has been scheduled to take place at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa, kicking-off at 2pm Tanzanian time.
Serengeti Girls need victory in order to revive their hope of qualifying for the quarterfinal of the competition.
The Tanzanian side lost 4-0 to Japan in their opening match held at the same venue while France recorded a 1-1 draw against Canada who today face Japan at 5.30pm at the same venue.
The Tanzania-France match will be officiated by Jamaican Odette Hamilton as the centre referee and assisted by Stephanie Yee Sing and Jassett Kerr Wilsona, both from Jamaica. Paraguay’s referee Zulma Quinonez will be the encounter’s fourth official.
Serengeti Girls head coach Bakari Shime said all his players are in good shape ahead of the encounter and called upon all fellow Tanzanians to support the team.
The tactician said they are facing the crucial match in which, he added, his players have promised to play hard.
“We lost the first match to Japan due to various technical reasons. We have learnt from the encounter because it was the first time and a red card reduced our pace that forced us to change our technical approach in the game.
“We are now familiar with the competition and good enough we are aware of the strength of our rivals,” said Shime.
He admitted that they are facing a tough assignment in the competition because, he said, France will also be targeting victory in order to pave the way for advancing to the knockout stage.
“Our focus is on recording victory over the French and qualify for the next round.
“We are really serious about this as we target to qualify for the knockout stage,” he insisted.
“Arithmetically, we are supposed to win both of our remaining matches in order to enter the next stage of the competition.
“So, the matches are very crucial for us to win,” he said.
