Stars seek quarters slot in crucial match

Taifa Stars players train in Douala, Cameroon. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • Taifa Stars are placed third with three points from two matches while Zambia, who will play Namibia, are second with four points from the same number of points
  • The match has been scheduled to start from 10pm (Tanzania time) as the team’s assistant coach, Juma Mgunda, has said all of his players are in good shape ahead of the game.

Dar es Salaam. The national football team (Taifa Stars) today play a must win encounter against Guinea in order to qualify for the quarterfinals of the African Nations Championship (Chan) in Douala, Cameroon.

The match has been scheduled to start from 10pm (Tanzania time) as the team’s assistant coach, Juma Mgunda, has said all of his players are in good shape ahead of the game.

Mgunda says the players have increased morale following their 1-0 win against Namibia, whom they managed to eliminate from the competition.

He noted that they are not going to search for a draw in the encounter, which is to be held simultaneously with the Zambia-Namibia match of the same group. “It is a decisive game and that’s why we shifted to Douala from Limbe soon after our encounter against Namibia. My players are now more spirited ahead of the match and we are sure of attaining our goals,” said Mgunda.

Taifa Stars are placed third with three points from two matches while Zambia are second with four points from the same number of points.

Guinea are at the top with four points from two matches. Namibia are already out of the competition and are going to play without too much pressure against Zambia.

Guinea need just a draw against Taifa Stars in order to qualify for the last eight teams in the competition, making them collect five points against Tanzania’s four.

Mathematically, Taifa Stars will have to win the match in order to get assurance of advancing into the quarterfinals of the competition as a draw will mean that they are out of the tournament even if Namibia register a win against Zambia due to regulations governing the competition.

Zambia will qualify for the stage even if they lose to Namibia and Tanzania draw against Guinea. This is due to the fact that on head to head, Tanzania lost 2-0 to Zambia.

Meanwhile, Congo Brazzaville have defeated Libya 1-0 to qualify for the quarter final stage of the on-going Total African Nations Championship 2020 in Cameroon.

The explosive Group B match played at the Japoma Stadium in Douala saw the two teams come all out in search of early goals, but the first half ended goalless.

But Congo’s goalkeeper Pavelh Ndzila had earlier made a good save, punching out Muetaz Al Mehdi’s shot after 11 minutes. Jaures Ngombe also came close for Congo after 14 minutes, but missed the target by inches. In the second half the Red Devils of Congo returned charged and took the lead after 52 minutes. The Libyan defenders failed to intercept a high cross giving Cautrand Ngouenimba a clear chance to finish from close range.

Libya, the 2014 Chan winners fought back strongly after conceding the goal, while Congo defended in numbers. Salah Fakhron and Mohamed Makkari had their shots saved by the Congolese goalkeeper. Congo Brazzaville, who are making their third appearance in the Chan tournament, will now face Mali in the first quarter final clash on January 30th in Yaounde, while DR Congo, who came out top of Group B, will clash Cameroon in the second quarter final.