Africa-Press – Tanzania. This follows their wafer-thin 1-0 triumph over Primeiro de Agosto of Angola in the second leg played at the stately Benjamin Mkapa Stadium here in Dar es Salaam last weekend.
Simba SC’s slender 1-0 win in the second leg means that they qualified for the group stage 4-1 on aggregate after impressively outplaying their Angolan foes 3-1 in the first leg in Angola.
Indeed, Simba SC’s passage to the group stage has left hordes of their fans thumping their chests with pride over the team’s brilliant feat.
However, it is vividly clear that in many ways for Simba SC the real do-or-die battles that they have encountered this season doubtlessly begin now in earnest in the group stage of the CAF Champions League.
Unarguably, the CAF Champions League’s group stage is perpetually a high-stakes affair with a lot on the line for all the teams jostling for top honours in the traditional two groups of the tournament.
As witnessed innumerable times in the past, the CAF Champions League’s group phase has wonderfully served as a fitting stage for indisputably gladiatorial battles to take place between teams in the upper echelon of continental football.
It seems crystal clear then that such potentially epic slug-fests await Simba SC in the group stage of this season’s CAF Champions League.
And, to smoothly navigate their way through the treacherous waters of continental football, Simba SC will have to be bold without exhibiting any braggadocio and respectful without being so to a fault.
Let us now dig into women’s youth football where the burgeoning FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup recently got underway in India.
With our Serengeti Girls being one of the teams eagerly battling for the spoils of victory the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup has taken on added importance for Tanzanians this time around.
Sadly though, our female starlets painfully found themselves on the receiving end of an utter 4-0 drubbing by Japan in their opening encounter of the huge event.
Thankfully though, the Serengeti Girls bounced back splendidly in their second game against European titans France which they admirably won 2-1.
It is hoped then that the tide has distinctly turned for the Serengeti Girls in the global event.
One also dearly hopes that the Serengeti Girls can win their last group face-off against Canada at a canter, which would dramatically improve their chances of progressing to the tournament’s knockout round.
Returning to the CAF Champions League, numerous Yanga fans must be glum and gloomy following their team’s saddening ouster from the elite continental football competition last Sunday.
Indeed, Yanga lost their second leg clash 1-0 against Al Hilal of Sudan on the latter’s home turf last weekend which ultimately means that the Jangwani Street outfit lost the tie 2-1 on aggregate following a deeply dissatisfying 1-1 draw in the first leg here in Dar es Salaam.
Despite the cruel setback, it is crucial to note that the loss is distinctly not an embarrassing one as through the years Al Hilal has built a reputation for being a banana skin that Africa’s biggest clubs can easily and disastrously trip over.
Having been tossed out of African football’s most highly regarded championship, it should be expected that Yanga will now redouble their efforts to regain domestic football’s top-flight title.
Thus, despite the sourness of defeat, Yanga fans should justifiably feel bullish that there is still a lot to play for this season.
For More News And Analysis About Tanzania Follow Africa-Press
