Taifa Stars face a must win rematch against Uganda

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania national football team (Taifa Stars) face Uganda’s The Cranes in the return leg on March 28 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam for the qualification of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Taifa Stars will have to win the rematch in order to get the assurance of qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals scheduled for next year from January to February in Ivory Coast.

Tanzania recorded a 1-0 victory last Friday in the first leg over Uganda, one of the tough teams in group F, to go second in the group standings with four points from three matches.

Taifa Stars’ goal was scored by Simon Msuva in the 68th minute following a good cross from the right flank by Dickson Job.

As per the group F table, Algeria almost have qualified for the Afcon finals after collecting nine points from three matches.

Arithmetically, victory over Uganda in the return leg at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam will enable Taifa Stars to collect seven points with two matches in hand.

Taifa Stars will host Niger at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium before clashing with Algeria in September to end the qualifying round.

The team’s head coach Algerian Adel Amrouche commended his players for the best show in the encounter, saying, however, that there is still another important and tough task against Uganda on March 28. Amrouche said he built winning spirit among his players in training sessions despite the limited time.

He said his players did the best in the encounter and he believes they will do the same next Tuesday at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, where the rematch will kickoff at 7pm Tanzanian time.

“We targeted to win the encounter and this is what happened and we have also targeted to win all of our remaining matches in order to qualify for the finals,” insisted Amrouche.

Taifa Stars played well in the encounter held at the Suez Canal Stadium on Friday evening in Ismailia, Egypt. Meanwhile, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has commended Taifa Stars for the victory over Uganda and has promised to award Sh10 million for any goal to be scored in the remaining three qualifying matches.

Speaking on behalf of President Samia, Tanzania’s chief government spokesperson, Gerson Msigwa, explained that the victory over Uganda has inspired many football fans in the country, including the president, who decided to make the promise.