Jan Poulsen calls 23 ahead of Algeria tie

Tanzania national soccer team coach Jan Poulsen yesterday announced a line-up of 23 players who would be camped for training ahead of the return leg of the African Nations Cup qualifier against Algeria next Saturday.

The match will be played at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam as the players are supposed to report at the Tanzania Football Federation’s hostels within Karume Memorial Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Sunday.

Te national team, Taifa Stars, are still in the qualifier series for the continental biennial championship to be jointly staged in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon early next year.

Players named by the Danish coach include goalkeeping trio of Shabani Dihile (JKT Ruvu Stars), Juma Kaseja (Simba) and Shabani Kado (Yanga).

Defenders are skipper Shadrack Nsajigwa (Yanga), Idrissa Rajab (Sofapaka, Kenya), Aggrey Morris (Azam) and Simba’s trio of Amir Maftah, Juma Nyoso and Victor Costa.

Midfielders are Henry Joseph (Kongsvinger IL, Norway), Shabani Nditi (Mtibwa Sugar), Jabir Aziz and Mrisho Ngassa (Azam), Yanga duo of Juma Seif and Nurdin Bakari, Nizar Khalfan (Vancouver Whitecaps, Canada) and Salum Machaku (Simba).

Strikers are Abdi Kassim (DT Long An, Vietnam), Mbwana Samata (TP Mazembe, DRC), Dan Mrwanda (DT Long An, Vietnam), Athuman Machupa (Vasalund IF, Sweden) and Azam duo of John Bocco and Ramadhan Chombo.

Stars have paltry four points realized from a win over Central Africa Republic and a draw with Algeria on September 3 last year.

Otherwise Stars have lost once each to Morocco on October 9 last year and to Central Africa Republic during a return leg played in Bangui on June 5.

After four matches, Morocco are in the lead with seven points, same as Central Africa Republic but with difference in goals aggregate.

After the next Saturday’s game, Stars will have to travel to Morocco for the final encounter in the qualifiers in October.

Tricky ties await Stars as they have no option other than to post victories.