Suleiman hails players for virtuoso performance

DAR ES SALAAM: TAIFA Stars Head Coach Hemed Suleiman has praised his players following a crucial 2-1 victory over Madagascar that saw Tanzania secure a place in the quarter-finals and extend their unbeaten run in Group B.

The results marked Tanzania’s third straight win in the tournament, giving them nine points and making them the first of 19 nations to secure a quarterfinal berth.

Group rivals Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Madagascar and the Central African Republic are now left to battle it out for the remaining slot. In his post-match press conference, coach Suleiman made sure the spotlight shone firmly on his players. “I say to the players, well done.

It is not easy to win three matches in a tournament. It was a tough match and our players did a good job. We tried to press Madagascar from the start. There were some difficult moments during the game overall,” he said.

The Taifa Stars took early control of the game, pressing their opponents high up the pitch and capitalising on early chances.

“It was a good match. We began by pressing our opponents and that gave us goals,” Suleiman noted. However, he acknowledged that the intensity dipped slightly after the early breakthrough. “Later, the pace a few of our players looked to fall after we had got the two goals,” he admitted.

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Madagascar responded with urgency, using long balls and secondball recoveries to put the Tanzanian defence under pressure.

“Our opponents were quite good with pace and the use of long balls,” said Suleiman. “They indeed gave us a hard time in the first half.” Despite the challenge, Tanzania returned from the break looking composed and organised. “We came into the second half in a good shape and we kept the shape well, with the defence more solid,” he said.

He was quick to highlight the team’s collective effort and preparation behind the win. “Our mission was difficult, but we trained well and we were also lucky in the match. We recovered many balls, we played well, we found the solution in the match and we won,” Suleiman explained.

On the other side, Madagascar’s head coach Romuald Rakotondrabe expressed disappointment with the result but remained hopeful about their campaign.

“It was a tough defeat against Tanzania and this is football,” he said. Rakotondrabe pointed to the early goals as the turning point.

“We played a strong match, but not like our opponent Tanzania who scored the first goal and it was surprising. Football is always difficult.” With only one point from two matches, Madagascar face a steep climb to reach the knockout rounds. “We lost the first two matches. This result is, in fact, painful, but there are still two matches ahead of us. We will work on motivating our players for the coming games,” the Coach said.