Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)
Japheth Kazenga
13 May 2011
THE national soccer team, Taifa Stars, meet South Africa’s ‘Bafana Bafana’ at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Friday in an international friendly match that is crucial to either side’s preparation for the ongoing 2012 AFCON qualifiers.
Both teams’ coaches have conceded that they take the friendly in high regard given that it will provide their respective players with the much needed build up as they look forward to securing a spot in the next year’s continental showpiece to be jointly hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Bafana Bafana coach, Pitso Mosimane, expressed his regards to the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) for organising the friendly match, saying it will help to shape his players ahead of their forthcoming qualifier against Egypt.
“We need this match to shape our team. We could not get any other better international friendly match than this, so, we are looking forward to it and we hope it will give us good preparations for the qualifiers,” he said.
Mosimane admitted that his squad will miss the services of a handful of professional players plying their trade overseas and other key home-based players in Saturday’s game but he still has a strong squad that will put good performance.
“I am missing almost eight home based players—two from Ajax Cape Town, three from Kaizer Chiefs and three from Mamelodi Sundowns, who have been called back to their respective teams as the sides are currently vying for the premier league title.
We, however, have a strong team of home-based players that can put an entertaining performance,” he said.
“We nevertheless will have players like Mamelodi Sundowns’ Katlego Mphela and Netherland-based Bernard Parker, now on loan to a club in Turkey. These are experienced players whose presence in tomorrow’s (today) match will be valued,” he added.
Mosimane also heaped praise on hosts, Taifa Stars, saying they too have strong home-based players that will offer Bafana Bafana stiff opposition in the match.
“We respect Taifa Stars as they have strong home-based players. We saw their performances in matches against Ivory Coast and Morocco, and we were impressed. We know a couple of good players in their squad like goalkeeper Juma Kaseja and skipper Shadrack Nsajigwa,” he said.
South Africa, currently at the top of group G of the qualifiers with seven points, will face Egypt in the return leg match to be played between June 3-5 in Cairo and Mosimane said the game will hardly be a decider as far as Bafana Bafana’s chances to qualify for the 2012 AFCON finals are concerned.
“We are now sitting at the top of group G with seven points and we still need nine points to qualify for the 2012 AFCON finals.
The Egypt match will not be a do or die affair to us an encounter with Niger is obviously the one we have to be worried about because they are now at the second spot with six points,” he said.
Taifa Stars’ head coach, Jan Poulsen, said today’s friendly is equally important to his side as they are shaping up for the crucial away qualifier against the Central African Republic (CAR) scheduled for June 4 in Bangui.
“I have always been saying that it is better for Taifa Stars to play the best teams in Africa and elsewhere because that is the only way to keep our players at the highest level of performance throughout,” said Poulsen.
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