Stars 25-man squad called to face Chad

TAIFA Stars head coach Charles Boniface Mkwasa has named four debutants in his 25-man squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Chad this month.

Mtibwa Sugar’s midfield duo of Mohamed Ibrahim and Shiza Kichuya are joined by JKU’s midfielder Ismail Juma and Prisons striker Jeremia Mgunda as new faces in the current roaster.

Mkwasa has also recalled a few players including; Mwadui FC goalkeeper Shaban Kado and Simba’s trio of Jonas Mkude, Mwinyi Kazimoto and Ibrahim Hajib for the crucial qualifier to be played in Ndjamena on March 23, this year.

Former captain and Young Africans defender Nadir Haroub was excluded from the squad as he is recovering from injury. Other notable absentees from the previous squad are keeper Said Mohamed, Kessy Ramadhan, Salim Mbonde and Hassan Isihaka, Salum Telela, Salum Abubakar, Simon Msuva and Mrisho Ngassa.

Speaking when unveiling his new squad, Mkwasa called on the players to work hard at their clubs as they will have no time to train with the national team ahead of the Ndjamena fixture due to shortage of time.

“Vodacom Premier League matches and CAF matches (Champions League and Confederation Cup) will be played at the weekend falling between March 18-20, so most of these players will be involved in club matches.

It means that there will no time to prepare to work together as a team before the game (against Chad),” said Mkwasa. “I insist to all the players that I have summoned to make sure that they take good care of themselves and maintain their fitness ahead of the game on March 23,” the Stars trainer added. Taifa Stars are currently third in Group ‘G’ with a single point after two matches.

The Tanzanian outfit sit behind Egypt and Nigeria who have six and four points respectively. The Stars, hence, have a mountain to climb if they are to make it to the finals to be held in Gabon in 2017.

Taifa Stars lost 3-0 away to Egypt in June and held Nigeria’s Super Eagles to barren draw in September last year in their opening qualifiers. Full squad for Chad game includes: Goalkeepers; Aishi Manula (Azam FC), Ally Mustapha (Young Africans) and Kado (Mwadui FC).

Defenders are Juma Abdul, Haji Mwinyi, Kelvin Yondani (Young Africans), Shomari Kapombe, Erasto Nyoni, David Mwantika (Azam FC) and Mohamed Hussein (Simba SC). Midfielders are Himdi Mao (Azam FC), Juma (JKU), Mkude, Said Ndemla, Kazimoto (Simba SC), Ibrahim, Kichuya (Mtibwa Sugar), Farid Mussa (Azam FC) and Deus Kaseke (Young Africans).

Strikers: Mbwana Samatta (KRC Genk), Thomas Ulimwengu (TP Mazembe), John Bocco (Azam FC), Elias Maguri (Stand United), Mgunda (Tanzania Prisons) and Ibrahim Hajibu (Simba SC).