National football team, Taifa Stars coach, Charles Boniface Mkwasa, named 22 players who will jet off tomorrow for Turkey to prepare for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Nigeria’s ‘Super Eagles’ set for September 5 at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Twenty-two players, include those from Young Africans and Azam FC, who will join the rest of the squad after today’s Community Shield match at the National Stadium.
The 22-strongman squad which will make the Istanbul’s trip comprises Goalkeepers Ali Mustafa (Yanga), Aishi Manula (Azam FC) and Said Mohamed from Mtibwa Sugar.
Defenders are Shomari Kapombe (Azam FC), Abdi Banda, Mohamed Hussein, Hassan Isihaka (Simba SC), Juma Abdul, Haji Mngwali, Kelvin Yondani and Nadir Haroub from Yanga.
Midfielders are Mudathir Yahya, Himid Mao, Frank Domayo (Azam FC), Salum Telela, Deus Kaseke (Yanga), Said Ndemla (Simba SC) and strikers are John Bocco, Farid Musa, (Azam FC), Rashid Mandawa (Mwadui FC), Simon Msuva (Yanga SC) and Ibrahim Ajib from Simba SC.
Stars will go straight to Istanbul where they will set up an eight-day training camp and will not make a stopover in Oman, Muscat as earlier reported.
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While in Turkey, the Stars will play two build-up matches against Libya and Kuwait before returning home to face the Super Eagles, who have already named their contingent for the match.
Stars are going to Turkey after losing their first Group D match 3-0 away to the Pharaohs of Egypt. The humiliating defeat forced TFF to overhaul the team’s technical bench, replacing Dutch trainer Mart Nooij with indigenous Mkwasa.
The Stars’ foreign based players named in the squad Mrisho Ngassa from Free State of South Africa and TP Mazembe duo of Mbwana Samatta and Thomas Ulimwengu will join the squad in Dar es Salaam after the Turkey trip.
Stars opponents, the Super Eagles, who are under coach Sunday Oliseh and skipper Vincent Enyeama, are expected to arrive in Dar es Salaam from Abuja on the eve of match day and depart immediately after the game.
In another development, the Eagles coach Oliseh is said to have been pleased with his players from the local league for putting to practice some of the tips they learnt in their first two trainings in readiness for Stars clash when they beat an academy team 1-0 in a test game on Thursday.
Gbolahan Salami scored the match winner from the penalty spot after he was brought down on his way to the goal.
