Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan has congratulated the country’s national team Taifa Stars after qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals.
Taifa Stars qualified for the event to be staged in Ivory Coast for the first time since 2019 after securing a heroic 0-0 draw away to Algeria on Thursday. The Taifa Stars knew avoiding defeat in Annaba would be enough to seal their spot at next year’s finals in Cote d’Ivoire.
After the game, the Head of State took to social media to congratulate Stars saying players have written the history as she wished them all the best. “You have written the history…this is our third time to qualify since the establishment of this tournament. I wish you all the best.”
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Tanzania’s resolute performance denied an Algeria side who had already booked their qualification as Group F winners. The draw ends Tanzania’s AFCON exile, with the Taifa Stars returning to the continent’s showpiece tournament for only the third time ever.
Despite dominating possession and carving out several chances, Algeria were unable to break down their stubborn opponents. Tanzania also posed an occasional threat on the counter-attack to keep the Desert Foxes honest throughout.
The result left Algeria manager Djamel Belmadi disappointed after his side’s winning run was ended. But for Tanzania, this hard-fought draw will feel like a triumph after defying the odds to achieve their target. For Uganda, despite winning 2-0 in their last match against Niger, they scooped third place with seven points will Niger remain at the bottom courtesy of two points.