Tanzanite play Eswatini in decisive Cosafa encounter

Dar es Salaam. The national U-20 women’s soccer team, The Tanzanite, today face Eswatini in the ongoing Cosafa Cup at the Gelvandale Stadium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

The match has been scheduled to start from 2pm. Before that, Zambia will play Botswana in another decisive encounter.

Tanzanite need victory to get assurance of playing in the knockout stage of the competition.

The team won 2-0 against Botswana in the first encounter held at the same venue.

Eswatini, who lost 4-0 against Zambia, also need victory in the encounter to revive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage.

Currently, Zambia, also known as Shepolopolo are leading Group C with three points while Tanzania is in the second position after collecting three points.

Speaking yesterday, Shime said his players played well in their first match, although they were competing for the first time in the competitions.

He said the players know the importance of the match as he believes they will come up with the best results.

“I have committed and talented players. So, I am sure we will make it. Zambia is a strong team that managed to eliminate us from the African Women’s Championships,” said Shime.

He said his players are well-focused ahead of the encounter and he is somehow satisfied with the team’s improvement.

“We are in competition and our main target is to win the title. Every soccer stakeholder must know that players are competing in the tournament for the first time as they were yet to play even a single international friendly .

“I am very proud of my players as they managed to shine against a team that has international exposure,” said Shime.

He said that he is using the competition as part of gearing up for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers as well as the World Cup.

“The players have shown that they are looking for something good in their career. They need motivation to achieve their goal,” he said.