Uganda U20 vs Tanzania U20 2021.Fufa.

U20 Afcon: Tanzania coach Kihwelo optimistic of win over Morocco

Tanzania U20 coach Jamhuri Mussa Kihwelo has exuded confidence his charges can get a positive outcome in their Africa U-20 Cup of Nations final Group C game against Morocco to seal a quarter-final berth.

The Ngorongoro have so far managed one point in their pool, and as a result, they are at the bottom of the group. The tactician is, however, optimistic the East Africans can still emulate their neighbours Uganda and seal their place in the last eight.

"Against Gambia, we were the better side and they were lucky to get a point. Now we will play to win against Morocco," the tactician said ahead of the Monday night game.

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"Morocco, Ghana and Gambia are not new to this competition as they have vast experience, but leaving that aside, we have been good competitors to them even though it is our first time to feature in the contents."

The Tanzanians started their campaign with a heavy 4-0 loss to West African heavyweights Ghana.

A Precious Boah double, a sublime Abdul Fatawu Issahaku effort and a late Joselpho Barnes strike ensured three points for the Black Satellites in the group opener at Stade Municipal de Nouadhibou in Mauritania on February 16.

They followed it up with a 1-1 draw against Gambia. Novatus Dismas' 88th-minute free-kick earned Tanzania a point in their 1-1 draw with Gambia. 

The young Scorpions, who scored first through Momodou Bojang's volley five minutes prior to half-time, looked to be headed for their first win of the championship until Dismas struck late on. 

"I am grateful the game ended without us losing although we will blame ourselves for not winning," Kihwelo is quoted by the Tanzania Football Federation Facebook page.

"We lost like five chances in a game that we were destined to win. Three chances were stopped by the Gambia goalkeeper and two were saved by their defenders in the first half. In the second half, we also lost a number of chances but at the end of the day, my boys fought hard and did not allow themselves to come out as losers."

Ordinarily, the top four teams at the U20 Afcon were rewarded with qualification tickets for the U20 World Cup but the situation has changed due to the cancellation of the global gathering because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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