Tanzania head coach Etienne Ndayiragije has admitted they have a chance to progress from the World Cup preliminary round of qualifiers to the knockout stage.
Taifa Stars are in Group J alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin and Madagascar and Ndayiragije is confident his team can post very surprising results and book a place in the final lap of qualification.
“We can record home and maybe away wins against all those teams but what is of importance, for now, is good preparations. Tanzania can actually surprise many with good results,” Ndayiragije told Mwanaspoti.
Although the former Tanzania international Jemedari Said affirms Taifa Stars have little chance to progress, he does not rule them out completely saying their preparations will largely determine the kind of results they get.
“If you look closely at the match statistics, the latest Fifa Rankings and recent results of the other teams then you can see Tanzania have little chance in this group,” explained Said.
“The opponents also have many players doing duties outside the country and their technical awareness is on a very high level.
“But we can also be surprised by a different outcome altogether because what is important is the country's game plan and preparations before each game. Teams are no longer depending on an individual's brilliance but on how the team works generally and how they execute their game plans.”
According to the December 19 Fifa Rankings, the Democratic Republic of Congo are a highly ranked nation occupying position 56, followed by Benin in position 84.
Madagascar, who enjoyed a surprisingly good campaign in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Egypt, are ranked 91st with Tanzania being the lowest-ranked Group J team in position 134.
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