Taifa Stars seek to salvage their pride in Nigeria

Dar es Salaam. Pride is likely to play a big role to turn what is supposed to be a formality match between Taifa Stars and the Super Eagles of Nigeria into a tough and hard derby at the Akwa Ibom Stadium on Saturday.  

The two lock horns in an Africa Cup of National (Afcon) qualifier in Lagos. Tanzania and Nigeria are just fighting for national pride in the match to be officiated by Algrian referee Mehdi Abid Charef, who will be assisted by compariots Abdelhak Etchiali and Ahmed Tamen.

Neither team will qualify to the group stages even if they win or draw in today’s encounter scheduled to start at 3pm. Egypt has already qualified. However, it still is a worthy cause to fight for three points in this match if one is to improve their world Fifa rankings. Tanzania ranks 124th while Nigeria stands at 67th. As it appears, Taifa Stars have an opportunity to significantly move up if they humiliate the soccer giants in their own backyard.

On the other hand, for many, Nigeria may be a pale shadow of their former self, but they are now touted as the most successful African country in Olympic men’s football after clinching bronze at the just-ended Rio Olympic Games in Brazil.

The 1996 Olympic football champions are also the first African country to complete an Olympic medal sweep having won silver in Beijing in 2008. They may not want to spoil the Rio victory after-party by losing to the Tanzanian side, which goes into this encounter as underdogs. 

Yet Taifa Stars head coach Charles Boniface Mkwasa said they trained hard ahead and are sure to register good results for Tanzanian soccer lovers. Mkwasa said: “It’s a tough match but we are prepared. We are facing a team that won a medal at the just ended Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Among the notable players in the squad is Mikel Obi who features for Chelsea in the English Premier League. There is also Victor Moses.”