PUNDITS have called for ample preparation as the only guarantee for the national team, Taifa Stars to perform well in the 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN) finals to be staged in Cameroon from April 4th to 25th this year.
The country’s envoys have been packed in group D together with Zambia, Namibia and Guinea and the two top teams will advance to the quarterfinals.
Taifa Stars made it to the CHAN finals after eliminating Sudan 2-1 in the reverse leg played in Sudan’s capital Khartoum with Ditram Nchimbi scoring the winning goal on the day.
Sudan won the first leg at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam but the 2-1 win away made Stars progress on away goal rule after a 2-2 aggregate score.
Reacting to the draw on Tuesday, former Taifa Stars goalkeeper Ivo Mapunda said what matters most is adequate preparation by the national team, while describing their group D pack as fair.
“In modern football, having ample preparations always plays a big role as far as doing well is concerned and in this case, we should not judge our opponents in the group by their names because in football, a team you undervalue is the one which may later surprise you,” he warned.
He added that most teams in group D have almost the same football standards with Tanzania as such, if the home team can put much focus on the good preparations, then reaching further into the contest is possible.
Also, former Simba SC goalie Mohamed Mwameja urged Head Coach Etienne Ndayiragije and the entire technical bench to keenly select players, who are ready to fight for their country.
“I think, he (coach) should not merely select players just because they play at Simba, Young Africans or Azam but they should be the ones who have potential to bring home desired outcome from the competition,” Mwameja said.
He also pointed out that government in conjunction with the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) should fully commit themselves to the national team, by ensuring that they get many friendly games to keep the team in good shape ahead of the Cameroon mission.
Moreover, Mwameja disclosed that playing in the past edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) helped a lot to give players exposure on how it feels to feature in big football competitions.
Defending champions and hosts Cameroon are in group A and will have to prove it against Mali, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe, while group B is made up of Libya, DR Congo, Congo and Niger. Rwanda and Uganda will meet in an East African derby as they are stacked in group C together with Morocco and Togo
