Taifa Stars off to a flying start at Afcon 2021 qualifiers

Dar es Salaam. Two second half goals by Simon Msuva and Salum Abubakar ensured that Taifa Stars kick off the 2021 Afcon campaign on the right foot.

Equatorial Guinea had taken an early lead in the first half through a long range effort by Pedro Obiang that beat Taifa Stars custodian Juma Kaseja.

The teams went for recess with Equatorial Guinea holding the advantage, however upon resumption stars started to press further upfront.

It was not until the 68th minute when Morocco-based winger Simon Msuva latched on the ball to restore parity in the proceedings at the National Stadium.

The best was yet to come in added time as Salum Abubakar's stupendous drive went straight into the top right hand corner.

The win temporarily puts Taifa Stars on top of Group J which also features Libya and Tunisia.

Neighbours Uganda and Kenya started off the campaign with away draws to Burkina Faso and Egypt respectively.

Stars' next assignment is against Libya on Tuesday in a game that is expected to be played in Tunisia.