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| Coach Charles Boniface Mkwasa |
Stars will play host to Super Eagles on match-day 2 of the qualifiers at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.
The Stars have concluded a ten-day training tour of Turkey and jetted back in the country to finalise their preparations, as they await the 2013 Africa champions.
Charles Boniface Mkwasa’s charges will continue with light training in the city today when foreign-based players Mbwana Samatta, Thomas Ulimwengu and Mrisho Ngassa are set to join the team.
The Stars will go into Saturday’s match against Nigeria seeking to bounce back from a 3-0 opening defeat against Egypt in their first match.
Nigeria, on the other end, will be seeking to maintain their winning start following a 2-0 triumph over Chad on match-day one.
Mkwasa has expressed optimism that the residential camp in Turkey has added much impetus to the team and it has given the technical bench an opportunity to perfect the squad for the crunch Group G game of the 2017 tournament to be hosted by Gabon.
Seeking to give the Stars an ideal groundwork ahead of the high-profile qualifier, the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) opted to send the team to Turkey for training and while there they played one friendly match against Libya last Saturday which they lost 2-1.
Stars wound up their training camp on Monday when they held a final training session in the morning and Mkwasa told the TFF website the camp has been a huge success for the players as they have shown big changes in their play.
He said he was pleased that all the players who featured against Libya put in a strong performance and played according to his instructions and that he has worked out on minor problems that surfaced during the game, insisting that they are now ready to take on Nigeria.
The coach appealed for Tanzanians to come out in big number and support their team at the National Stadium on Saturday, saying the presence of many fans at the venue will boost the morale of his players and make them feel that they’re playing at home and that they’re fighting for their nation.
The Super Eagles are expected to depart Lagos Thursday afternoon and arrive in Dar es Salaam on Friday, a day before the match.
Tanzania are rooted to the bottom of Group G after losing 3-0 away to Egypt in match day one in June and now they need to get maximum points on board in their quest for a first ever AFCON appearance since 1980.
Nigeria and Egypt have three points each after one game in Group G, though the Pharaohs have scored one more goal and are, therefore, ahead.
Culled from http://dailynews.co.tz
