After being left out of the squad that played in the first two rounds of qualification matches for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Tanzania’s interim coach Hemed Suleiman has recalled experienced forward and captain Mbwana Samatta to the squad for the double header against DR Congo.
Samatta has skippered Tanzania for the last few years, but a struggle back with his club PAOK in Greece saw him miss out on the squad. However, coach Hemed is pleased with how the striker has started his season and believes he will add a lot of punch to the team.
Hemed talked to Telecomasia.net, as he named his squad for the Congo matches:
If you look at our team, one of the areas we struggle in a lot is the striking position. Even in the local leagues, our strikers are not scoring as much. Having a player of Samatta’s status and experience is key for us because he brings with him an X factor.
Tanzania have four points from the first two matches of the qualifiers, and victory against DR Congo, who have six after winning two out of two, will be key for their AFCON conquest.
We are going to play a very tough match. Congo is a good team with good players and you can see from their results that they are very keen to go to the AFCON. Our ambition is to go there and win.
Tanzania travel away to Kinshasa for the first leg on October 10 before hosting the return tie in Dar es Salaam five days later.
