Local boys face Rwanda in opener
Reigning champions Kilimanjaro Stars start the defence of their crown on Saturday with a tough fixture against Rwanda at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Stars are looking to retain the title they won last year as part of the country’s celebrations of 50 years of independence and will hope for a strong start in Group A which also consists of Zimbabwe and Djibouti.
As expected, for the locals, the tourney starts on Saturday with a capacity crowd expected to flock the stadium to cheer on the local boys in the match set to kick off from 2:55pm on SuperSport Select.
Recent record against the Amavubi Stars puts them in good stead as they edged them out by a solitary goal in the last eight last year.
With national team coach Jacob Poulsen stepping aside for local coaches Boniface Mkwasa and his assistant Jamhuri Kihwelu, the tourney will give the locals a chance to show what they can do in charge of the Stars.
Juma Kasseja will most likely start in goal with veteran Shadrack Nsajigwa marshalling the defence with Erasto Nyoni and Juma Nyoso.
In midfield, Nurdin Bakari will hold things together while Stars will again rely on the mercurial skills of Mrisho Ngassa down the right with his pace and dribbling skills for leading the attack.
Upfront, Thomas Ulimwengu and Rashid Yusuf will lead the hunt for goals.
For Rwanda, coach Milutin Sredojevic ‘Micho’ will hope to continue with his good start since his appointment as coach early last month.
The Amavubi thrashed Eritrea 4-2 on aggregate to qualify for the group stages of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and he will hope that his team can continue in the same spirit in Tanzania.
Having coached in Tanzania for years, his knowledge of the local game will be a huge weapon which could give his team some advantage.
Haruna Niyonzima who plays for Yanga will also have a pretty good idea of his opponents and should be the anchor in the midfield with his ability to pick out a pass.