AT A GLANCE: SENEGAL VS TANZANIA- Taifa Stars out to impress
Dar es Salaam. Taifa Stars are eager to make a splash tonight as they play their first match of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals against a fancied Senegal at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo, Egypt.
The match kicks off at 8pm with a defiant Stars head coach Emmanuel Amunike saying he is optimistic about getting the best result and leave a mark at the flagship event.
Amunike says his players are in top form and ready to counter the Senegalese, who are under the tutelage of famous African footballer Alliou Cisse.
Amunike says despite the fact that the Senegalese team is made of famous players who feature in various European leagues, his squad boasts gifted players who want to prove their worth in the encounter.
He says they want to make history in the prestigious tournament by doing the best in Group C.
“It is not an easy match, but a tough one for us. We are here to compete and record the best results. We need to do our best despite the fact that we are facing a strong opposition,” said Amunike.
Their passage to Egypt for this edition was ignited by a surprise victory on home soil over Uganda, one of the continent’s top performers, who yesterday ended a 41-year wait for an Africa Cup of Nations victory when they upset the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 Saturday in a Group A match in Cairo.
Taifa Stars are under skipper Mbwana Samatta, who has so far scored 17 goals for the national team, John Bocco (16 goals) and Simon Msuva with 10 goals.
Senegal are under Moussa Konate, who plays for Amiens of France and M’bye Niang of Rennes of France. Konate has so far scored 12 goals while Niang four goals.
The two teams’ statistics
The two teams met twice in 2007 and Senegal recorded the best results.
The first match was played on March 24, 2007 and Senegal won 4-0 in Dakar and in the return leg on June 2nd, and the score ended in a 1-1 draw.
However, during the run-up to the Afcon qualifications, Taifa Stars finished second with eight points. Uganda topped the group with 13 points.
Taifa Stars scored a total of six goals in the qualifying round while conceding five. Senegal scored 12 goals and conceded two.
Tanzania’s side has conceded seven goals in 10 international assignments as the number equals that of Senegal, who have managed to win seven matches, drawing twice and losing one to Colombia 1-0.
They won 2-1 against Poland, 3-0, 1-0 versus Sudan, 1-0 against Equatorial Guinea, 2-0 and 2-1 versus Madagascar. Senegal also won 2-1 against Mali and 1-0 against Nigeria. The team drew 2-2 against Japan and 2-1 against Madagascar. Taifa Stars managed to win four international matches, losing there and drew three times.
The team won 2-1 against Cape Verde, 3-0 (Uganda), 2-0 (DR Congo) and 2-0 against Malawi. The team recorded a draw against Zimbabwe (1-1), Benin (1-1) and a goalless draw against Uganda. Stars lost 3-0 to Cape Verde before again losing 1-0 to Lesotho and Egypt respectively.
As Taifa Stars’ striking force seems to be improving, the Senegal defense, on the other hand, seems to concede goals mostly in the second half as they conceded five goals in ten matches.
Senegal head coach
Senegal head coach Alliou Cisse says his side will adopt a match-by-match approach in the competition with the aim of doing much better than the quarter-finals outing at the last edition in Gabon in 2017.
Cisse is one of the few coaches who will be making back-to-back appearances, from the last time.
“You cannot underrate any team in the group. It is a balanced group for my team. Currently, there are no more small or big teams.
“All the qualified teams target the title and try to achieve the best possible results. I cannot underestimate Kenya or Tanzania.”
