DAR ES SALAAM: NATIONAL football team, Taifa Stars lost to Sudan in a dramatic penalty shootout, falling 6-5 after the two-legged 2025 African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers ended in a 1-1 aggregate tie.
Sudan will face Ethiopia in their next campaign as they continue their pursuit of a spot in the CHAN finals next year, where Tanzania will still feature in the finals as co-host alongside Kenya and Uganda.
In yesterday’s match, Tanzania aimed to overturn a 1-0 defeat to Sudan from the first leg in Mauritania last weekend.
They achieved this in regular time with Crispin Ngushi’s header in the 36th minute, sending the game to penalties.
Both teams took five spot kicks, but Tanzania fell short when Paul Peter’s sixth attempt was saved by Sudan’s goalkeeper, Ahmed Elfatih.
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Despite Paul Peter missing a crucial penalty, Tanzania successfully converted five spot kicks through Sheikhan Ibrahim, David Bryson, Abdalla Said, Sabri Dahari and Abdulkarim Kassim.
Sudan matched this with successful penalties from Walieldin Daiyeen, Mohamed Yagub, Elsamani Elsawi, Ali Abdalla, Ramadhan Agab and Saleheldin Abdil.
The match was tightly contested, with Tanzania enjoying more possession and displaying an aggressive style of play.
Notably, Taifa Stars featured several newcomers, including six players from the recent under-20 squad: Abdulkarim Kiswanya, Lameck Lawi, Hijjah Shamte, Sabri Kondo, Abdala Mwalimu and Sheikhan Ibrahim Khamis.
In contrast, Sudan fielded a more experienced line-up, boasting players from top clubs such as Al Merrikh, El Merreikh and Al Hilal.
