Africa-Press – Tanzania. TAIFA Stars Head Coach Kim Poulsen said the 2022 World Cup qualifying journey is still wide open and that anything can happen in their group J of the campaign.
Stars lost 1-0 to Benin on Thursday at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam prior to the reverse leg tomorrow in Cotonou, Benin where the country’s envoys need to win to restore hopes of qualifying for the World Cup finals.
The outcome saw Benin topping the group with seven points followed by Democratic Republic of Congo with five points while Tanzania are third with four points and the bottom slot is occupied by Madagascar who have not won any match.
At a post-match briefing, Poulsen repeatedly said they have a strong belief that they can do it in Benin by winning the match just like the way their opponents did here.
“There is a strong belief in the team among players that we can do it in Benin basing on the good performance we showcased throughout the match. “The first half was quite even with Simon Msuva missing a great chance and in the second half, we had to push them and I think everyone in the stadium had a feeling that we could score but we failed to take our chances.
“At the end, personal skills from their number 9 player who scored the goal made the difference of the game. It should be remembered that Benin are ranked 80th on FIFA standings but we managed to pile pressure on them by creating many scoring chances,” noted Poulsen.
He continued: “We have just lost one battle but the war is still on. We can get a win in Benin because they were just luck here. The entire match belonged to Tanzania as such; we need to take our chances there.” His skipper Mbwana Samatta urged Tanzanians not to lose hopes as they still have a good chance to qualify into the biggest world football competition whose finals will be staged in Qatar.
“It was a difficult game and our opponents were compact at their defence that is why we lacked an alternative way to penetrate but we have another opportunity to do well,” he said.
On his part, Benin Head Coach Michel Dussuyer was full of praise of Taifa Stars saying they gave his side a tough game just like the way he anticipated.
“We expected a difficult match against Tanzania and we had it. The second half was the most difficult one but we managed to score a goal and we are happy with the three points. “Tanzania is a very good side and I know that the return match will also be difficult like the one we had but we will be playing at home with high spirit to win even though we have limited time to prepare,” said him.
He further pointed out that playing with some spectators at their home venue will help to energise their players to do the intended job.
In another group J match on Thursday, DR Congo won 2-0 versus Madagascar to collect maximum three points before their next meeting in Madagascar tomorrow.
