EDITORIAL: Bravo! Stars, but make Cosafa Cup count in Chan

The national team (Taifa Stars) is fairing quite impressively at the 2017 Cosafa Cup in South Africa.

They are through to the quarterfinal phase. They mauled Malawi 2-0 before playing out a goalless stalemate against Angola and an intriguing one-all draw against Mauritius.

We say bravo to the team for their fighting spirit even though the technical bench has a lot to address.

Stars now meet defending champions and host nation South Africa in the last eight at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace tomorrow. The South Africans are a handful on paper, but Stars are no longer pushovers. They have all it takes to send the Bafana Bafana crashing out.

This is a perfect match for Stars. A win will be a great morale booster for players as they fine-tune their skills for their 2018 African Nations Championship (Chan), second round qualifier against Rwanda. Stars will square up against Rwanda on the weekend of July 14-16 at the 60,000-seater National Stadium before flying out to Kigali for the decisive leg a week later.

Tanzania under Brazilian tactician Marcio Maximo managed to qualify for the first edition of the Chan finals, which took place in Cote d’Ivoire in 2009.

It is our belief that the Cosafa Cup tournament will provide Stars players with a psychological edge besides helping them gel ahead of the double-legged qualifier.

We take pride in their success so far, but Tanzanians would like to see them win the Cosafa Cup where they compete as a guest nation.

Should they clear the Bafana Bafana hurdle, they will face either Zambia or Botswana in the next stage.

It will be another sought-after preparatory match before the Chan qualifiers begin. It is also an opportunity for the Stars technical bench, which is under Salum Mayanga to evaluate tactics and areas that will need bolstering.

We challenge the boys to fight their way to the final and avoid complacency.