Taifa Stars picked up just a point from their November double-header after their away 1-0 loss and a 1-1 home draw
Tanzania head coach Etienne Ndayiragije has explained why Tanzania did not manage to beat Tunisia in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Tuesday.
Taifa Stars picked up a point from a 1-1 draw at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Thursday after they had lost 1-0 in the first encounter in November on Friday.
The Burundian coach has now explained how a lack of training days affected his plans and, therefore, saw them fail to pick up more points from the former African champions.
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“We did not have enough time to train,” Ndayiragijje told IPP media.
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“We trained for one day at home and for three days in Turkey. In all the training, I did not have all the players at the same time as some were still with their respective clubs.”
Tanzania will now have to win their remaining two matches and hope Equatorial Guinea lose in Tunis against the Carthage Eagles if they have to seal another Afcon slot.
However, the coach has explained how they can only be assured of a win against the two remaining rivals in Group J.
“If we can play well we can win and qualify. We have one game at home and another away,” Ndayiragije added.
The head coach explained why he featured Adam Adam in the crucial home tie that was attended by a fairly huge crowd after Caf agreed to the Tanzanian government’s request to allow stadium attendance.
“I handed [Adam] Adam playtime so that he can get the necessary experience especially at the international stage,” he concluded.
Ndayiragije had to play Tunisia without their key striker and captain Mbwana Samatta was injured turning out for Fernabhce before the international break.
Currently, they are third with four points below Tunisia who have 10 points and Equatorial Guinea who have six points.
Libya, who have been forced to host their matches away from home, are at the bottom with just three points.
Tanzania are searching for a second straight Afcon qualification after participating in the previous edition where they were eliminated at the group stage without a win.
The participation in the Egypt competition was their first after they had missed out on the continental podium for 39 years.
