NATIONAL women football team, Twiga Stars campaign to qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games hit the brick wall after losing 1-0 to host DR Congo yesterday.
Following a 2-2 draw in the first leg match at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam a week ago, Twiga Stars were required to win the second leg clash at the Complexe Omnisports stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa.
Bakari Shime charges also needed at least a draw of more than three goals to see them through but it was a tough call as they conceded the first goal in the 45th minute, when goalkeeper, Naijat Abas, was at fault once again, palming into her own net a corner kick.
Reports from Kinshasa had it that Twiga Stars dominated the first half but struggled to make the most from the chances they created. In the first leg of qualifiers, Twiga Stars had to come from behind twice to earn a draw.
Mariane Kajaji put DR Congo ahead in the first half but Donisia Daniel pulled immediately after the break.
Twiga were pegged back again, when Grace Balango netted the second for DR Congo but Asha Rashid spared the home team blushed with a late equliser.
In the game, Twiga struggled to make impact in the final third. Like in the first leg, Shime opted to bench experienced goalkeeper; Fatuma Omary for less experienced Naijat Abas, who was also at fault in both goals scored by DR Congo in Dar es Salaam.
Following the 3-2 aggregate win, DR Congo progressed into the second round of the qualifiers and will face Equatorial Guinea.
However, Equatorial Guinea have been banned by FIFA and are not eligible to compete in Olympics, meaning DR Congo will likely get a bye to the third round.
In 2017, FIFA expelled Equatorial Guinea from the 2019 Women’s World Cup for using fake documents and selecting at least 10 ineligible players in its Olympic team.
In a previous related case, FIFA banned Equatorial Guinea’s women from the 2020 Olympic qualifying programme.
That decision related to a Brazil-born player who had two passports and two birth certificates with personal details that did not match. The Tokyo Olympic Games are scheduled to begin from July 24th to August 9th next year.
