Fearless Stars eye Pharaohs scalp
Taifa Stars players warm up during a training session at the Addis Ababa Stadium yesterday. Stars leave Ethiopia for Egypt today for their 2017 Afcon qualifier against the Pharaohs in Alexandria on Sunday. photo | courtesy of tff
What you need to know:
Statistics might not be in their favour but Taifa Stars coach Nooij has warned that his men can defy the odds
Dar es Salaam. After a week-long training camp in Ethiopia, Taifa Stars leave the world’s most populous landlocked country for Egypt today for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against the Pharaohs in Alexandria.
Statistics might not be in their favour but the national soccer team head coach, Mart Nooij, has warned that his men can defy the odds and silence the multiple Afcon champions in Sunday’s Group G clash at Borg El Arab Stadium.
Nooij believes Taifa Stars have an equal chance of qualifying like the rest of the teams in the group, insisting that his team will not be intimidated by big names in their opponents’ line-up as they seek to begin their campaign on a high.
The match will be played behind closed doors because Egyptian football games in recent months have been engulfed with consecutive violent incidents between soccer fans and police. “It’s been a long time since we played against them. You can’t compare the past with the present,” Nooij told The Citizen by phone from Addis Ababa yesterday.
Egypt will likely have on board a host of star players, making them favourites to win the match.
However, the Dutchman has chosen to focus on the collective strength of his team as Stars seek an away win to sound a warning note to their next opponents.
“We have to play as a team and not be intimidated by the names within the opposition,” he insisted, adding that his players have been responding positively to his instructions during the Addis Ababa training camp.
The Pharaohs boast a record seven Afcon titles, but in recent years they have failed to even appear at the tournament finals, missing out on the 2012, 2013 and 2015 editions after winning three straight crowns from 2006 to 2010.
Argentine coach Hector Cuper is the man who has been tasked with returning the North African heavyweights to the continental championship finals, having been appointed in March this year.
Cuper’s squad for the match against Tanzania is one which features a blend of youth and experience, though he will surely look to star players such as Mohamed Salah, Mohamed El-Nenny, Ahmed Elmohamady and Ahmed Fathy as the men to build the team around.
On paper, Taifa Stars, who have not been to the Nations Cup finals since 1980, start as complete underdogs, but coach Mart Nooij is a canny operator and will hope to make best use of the fact that the game will be played behind closed doors.
The Pharaohs and the Stars have met nine times, with the North Africans boasting an unbeaten record which includes eight wins and a combined score of 35-10 in their favour.
The other Group G match this weekend will see Nigeria host Chad in Kaduna.
