Taifa Stars face Indonesia in international friendly Sunday
Some of Tanzania’s national football team players (Taifa Stars) during their departure yesterday at Julius Nyerere International Airport for Jakarta, Indonesia. They will face Indonesia in the international friendly scheduled to take place this Sunday. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- In the encounter, scheduled to kick off at 12pm Tanzanian time, Taifa Stars players will use it as part of gearing up for a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier against Zambia on June 11 at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
Dar es Salaam. The national football team (Taifa Stars) will play Indonesia in the friendly match on Sunday at the Gelora Bung Karno Madya Stadium in Jakarta.
In the encounter, scheduled to kick off at 12pm Tanzanian time, Taifa Stars players will use it as part of gearing up for a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier against Zambia on June 11 at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
Some of the Taifa Stars players have already departed for Jakarta ahead of the encounter minus Young Africans (Yanga) and Azam FC players who will join the team soon after playing their CRDB Federation Cup final match slated for Sunday in Zanzibar.
Yanga’s players who will miss the encounter are Aboutwaleeb Mshery (goalkeeper), Bakari Mwamnyeto, Ibrahim Bacca, Nickson Kibabage (defenders), Mudathir Yahya (midfielder) and striker Clement Mzize.
Azam FC players, who will not play in the Stars match, are Lusajo Mwaikenda, Pascal Msindo, Nathaniel Chilambo (defenders), Feisal Salum, Yahya Zayd (midfielders) and Abdul striker Suleiman Sopu.
However, the players will join the Stars’ teammates including goalkeepers Ally Salim (Simba), Kwesi Kawawa (Syrianska FC, Sweden), Yona Geofrey (Tanzania Prisons). Defenders are Haji Mnoga (Aldershot Town, England), Mohamed Hussein, Israel Mwenda (Simba), Lameck Lawi (Coastal Union) and Mukrim Issa (Ihefu FC).
Midfielders are Novatus Dismas (Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine), Yussuf Kagoma (Singida Fountain Gate), Morice Michael (RFK Novi Sad, Serbia), Himid Mao (Tala’ea El Gaish, Egypt) and Abel Josiah (TDS – TFF Academy).
Strikers are Kibu Dennis, Edwin Balua (Simba), Simon Msuva (Alnajmah, Saudi Arabia), Cyprian Kachwele (Whitecaps 2, USA), Ben Starkie (Ilkeston Town, England), Charles M’mombwa (Macarthur, Australia), Wazir Junior (KMC), Ibrahim Hamad (Zimamoto) and Kelvin John (Genk, Belgium).
Apart from Zambia, other Group E teams in the World Cup qualifiers are Congo Brazzaville, Niger and Morocco. Eritrea decided to pull out of the competition.
The 2026 World Cup finals will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, seeing nine teams from Africa qualify from the previous five. The qualification process involves nine groups, with the winners of each group earning a spot in the finals.
So far, Taifa Stars have played two matches in their group, kick-starting their campaign with a 1-0 away victory over Niger on November 18, last year at the Marrakech Stadium in Morocco, thanks to Charles M’mombwa’s goal.
