Hosts Tanzania ready to battle Kenya in Zonal U-20 AFCON Qualifiers

The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) U-20 CECAFA Qualifiers finally kick-off on Sunday with two matches on card.

In what promises to be a thriller hosts Tanzania will take to the field first to battle Kenya in a Group A match at the KMC Stadium.

Charles Boniface Mukwasa, the Tanzania head coach has said winning the opening match in such a tournament is always a good motivator. “We are going all out to try and get three points because that will give us a good start,” added Mukwasa.

The hosts will hope to also rely on the home support to motivate the team against a well prepared Kenyan team led by coach Salim Babu.

The likes of Aldrine Kipchirchir Kibet who was the star for the Kenyan team at the CECAFA U-18 tournament last year will be one of the players to watch. Babu thinks the stakes will be high in the opening match against Tanzania.

“Stakes are always high when you play a home team and the first match of the tournament. But we are well prepared,” added the Kenya team coach.

The second Group A match will see Sudan facing Djibouti at the Azam Complex. The Djibouti team few days ago played two friendly matches against the Ethiopia U-20 team in Addis Ababa, losing 2-0 and 5-0 respectively.

Action in Group B will take place on Monday with South Sudan battling Burundi at the KMC Stadium, while Uganda take on Ethiopia in the second match at the Azam Complex.

The qualifiers which have attracted nine teams will climax on October 20^th with the final. The best two teams will represent the Zone at the AFCON U-20 competition next year.

Group A: Tanzania, Sudan, Rwanda, Djibouti, Kenya

Group B: Uganda, South Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia