Tanzania eyes winning start against Lesotho

Tanzania coach, Salum MaYoung African, is resolute that his squad is ready to take on Lesotho in their Group L opener on Saturday in Dar es Salaam.

MaYoung African is upbeat the Taifa Stars have a chance to qualify for the showpiece event in Cameroon in 2019, and believes only victory against Lesotho at the Azam Complex Stadium, few miles away from Dar es Salaam city will set the tone.

“We are ready. We have worked through several technical and tactical trainings and the players have shown that they are in good shape and can play well,” said MaYoung African.

The Taifa Stars held a week’s training camp in the Egyptian city of Alexandria as part of preparations, and MaYoung African is convinced it was a step in the right direction.

“We chose Egypt because the weather there was not much different from ours. The place was cool and we were able to train well.

“In big games like this, you need to work harder. The players need to be physical and psychologically fit so that they can fight to win. We cannot afford to lose the first game,” he added.

Deputy captain, Himid Mao said they are well prepared to tackle Lesotho in the encounter he has dubbed a must win.

“The camp in Egypt was fantastic. We trained well and we are confident of victory,” said Mao.

Cape Verde faces Uganda in the other Group L match also on Saturday in Praia.

Full Squad

Fixtures

Group A

9.06.2017      Obeid            Sudan vs Madagascar

10.06.2017    Dakar            Senegal vs Equatorial Guinea

Group B

10.06.2017    Yaounde        Cameroon vs Morocco

10.06.2017    Lilongwe        Malawi vs Comoros

Group C

10.06.2017    Bamako         Mali vs Gabon

10.06.2017    Bujumbura    Burundi vs South Sudan

Group D

11.06.2017    Blida              Algeria vs Togo

11.06.2017    Cotonou         Benin vs Gambia

Group E

9.06.2017      Cairo             Libya vs Seychelles

10.06.2017    Uyo               Nigeria vs South Africa

Group F

10.06.2017    Freetown       Sierra Leone vs Kenya

11.06.2017    Kumasi          Ghana vs Ethiopia

Group G

10.06.2017    Kinshasa        DR Congo vs Congo

11.06.2017    Harare           Zimbabwe vs Harare

Group H

10.06.2017    Bouake          Cote d’Ivoire vs Guinea

11.06.2017    Bangui           Central African Rep. vs Rwanda

Group I

10.06.2017    Ouagadougou Burkina Faso vs Angola

10.06.2017    Francistown   Botswana vs Mauritania

Group J

10.06.2017    Niamey          Niger vs Swaziland

11.06.2017    Tunis             Tunisia vs Egypt

Group K

10.06.2017    Ndola            Zambia vs Mozambique

10.06.2017    Bissau           Guinea Bissau vs Namibia

Group L

10.06.2017    Praia                        Cape Verde vs Uganda

10.06.2017    Dar es Salaam          Tanzania vs Lesotho