Serengeti Boys face Ethiopia in Afcon-Cecafa qualifying tie
Serengeti Boys players during a past training session. The team today face Ethiopia in the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa)-Afcon qualifying match. PHOTO| COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The competition was delayed to start following the withdrawals of Rwanda and Eritrea while South Sudan and Djibouti were disqualified for failing to comply with MRI tests
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s U-17 national football team, Serengeti Boys, today face a tough test against Ethiopia in their opening match of the 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations-Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) Zone qualifying tournament.
The encounter takes place at the Abebe Bikila Stadium in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The competition was delayed to start following the withdrawals of Rwanda and Eritrea while South Sudan and Djibouti were disqualified for failing to comply with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests.
Apart from Ethiopia, another team in group A are Somalia while group B has Burundi, Sudan and the defending champions, Uganda.
The Serengeti Boys-Ethiopia match is decisive for the two teams in order to qualify for the semifinal of the tournament. Ethiopia will likely be targeting victory in order to qualify for the knockout stage. The hosts lost 1-0 to Somalia in their opening match.
However, Serengeti Boys need victory in order to get the assurance of qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition.
The team’s assistant coach, Maalim Saleh, said they are targeting victory in the encounter and are facing a tough test against the Ethiopians, who, he explained, will also be targeting victory in order to qualify for the next stage.
“It is going to be a tough game and this is because Ethiopia are one of the tough teams in the tournament. They lost 1-0 to Somalia and therefore they will be fighting hard for a win in order to revive their hopes of qualifying for the next stage.
“We have seen Ethiopia and we are aware of their strength and weaknesses and I am optimistic that we will emerge victorious in the match,” said Saleh. He said there is no injury in the squad and his players’ morale is very high.
“What I can assure you is classic football from my players, who have trained well and who want to prove their worth in the tournament,” he said.
Serengeti Boys’ captain Omary Hassan is expected to lead the squad in the battle.
“We will have to stretch our muscles in order to win the encounter. We really face a strong opposition, especially after their 1-0 loss to Somalia. We have seen them play, but we promise to do our best, although we need to take precautions,” he said.
