Tanzania vs Burundi is a must-win for Taifa Stars - Matola

Tanzania have promised to get a win against Burundi to honour their late President Benjamin Mkapa.

The Taifa Stars will be playing for the first time at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam since it was renamed to Mkapa Stadium following the demise of their fourth president on July 24.

This is the reason assistant coach Seleman Matola has said they will go for a win in honour of the late president.

“We want to set a new record by winning our first match at Mkapa Stadium against Burundi,” Matola said as per Sokaletu. “We are ready for the match on Sunday, we know it will not be easy since Burundi are a tough side but we have to give Tanzanians a win and that is why we have vowed to win the match.

“We know we will miss our striker John Bocco because of injury but all in all, the team is ready and prepared," he noted. "We want to start with a win, now that the stadium has been renamed to Mkapa.”

For his part, team captain Aishi Manula, who plays for Simba SC in the Mainland Premier League, also said they are ready to get past Burundi.

“We know how tough they are, we played against them on several occasions and it is not easy to win against them but we are ready, the training has been good and the team is looking good to fight for a win.”

On Friday, coach Etienne Ndayiragije revealed striker Bocco, who turns out for Simba, will not be involved against Burundi.

“I have all the players available but I am sorry to say striker John [Bocco] is out of the match,” Ndayiragije told reporters on Friday. “I was hoping to use him for the match, you know how good he is for the national team but it cannot work now, I pray to God for his quick recovery.

“It is a blow to my plans, you know Bocco is one of the most important players in the team considering he also captains the champions back in Tanzania, but we will have to work around the squad without him.”

Tanzania will be taking part in the African Nations Championship next year, and the Burundian tactician will be using the friendly match to gauge the fitness and preparedness of his charges.

The Taifa Stars will be playing Tunisia on November 11 away, before hosting them in Dar es Salaam two weeks later. The East African nation started the campaign in Group J with a 2-1 win over Equatorial Guinea before falling 2-1 away to Libya in their second game.

The Tanzania Mainland League has been active since June 13 which will be a boost to their players' fitness ahead of the Burundi assignment.