Tanzania stands in Kenya's way to Cecafa U-18 final
Kenya's Under-18 players celebrate a goal during their Cecafa Under 18 tournament Group A match against Rwanda at Jomo Kenyatta Stadium, Mamboleo, Kisumu on November 28, 2023.
What you need to know:
- The other semi-final match will see Uganda face neighbours Rwanda at the same venue, with the kick-off time for both matches set to be announced on Monday
- Kenya’s Junior Stars will be playing before a huge home crowd, but they will be facing one of the toughest sides in the regional championship
- Uganda topped Pool 'B' with six points after beating South Sudan 2-0 in their final match also on Saturday and head coach, Morley Bywekwaso has expressed hopes of leading the boys to victory against Rwanda who finished second in Pool 'A'
Junior Stars coach Salim Babu has urged his boys to to put their perfect record in the group stage behind them when they face Tanzania in the Cecafa Under-18 semi-finals on Tuesday at Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Kisumu.
The other semi-final match will see Uganda face neighbours Rwanda at the same venue, with the kick-off time for both matches set to be announced on Monday.
“We won all our matches to finish top in Pool 'A', but we have to put the victories in the archives and play to win the next fixture against Tanzania on Tuesday. I watched all their matches, and saw how they have improved as the tournament progressed,” he said.
“It has been a good run in the group stages and now we have to replicate the same in the semis. Tanzania is not a team to underrate. We have to be in top shape if we have to progress,” Babu stated.
Tanzanian coach Habib Kondo Kikwayu said:
“Definitely we will be underdogs compared with our opponents who won all their matches, scored 10 goals in the process, but we have what it takes to make life difficult for the Kenyans. We are not afraid of anyone because we believe in ourselves,” said Kondo.
Kenya’s Junior Stars will be playing before a huge home crowd, but they will be facing one of the toughest sides in the regional championship.
Tanzania showed quality in all their matches, winning 1-0 against Uganda before settling for a 1-1 draw against Zanzibar on Saturday.
Both teams finished with four points each and identical goals statistics but Tanzania edged out their neighbours on disciplinary records, having received fewer cautions in their group matches.
The decision, rooted in regulation 3.6 of the tournament rules, underscored the importance of maintaining composure and discipline in competitive football.
The latter involves evaluating teams based on the number of yellow cards received. In this scenario, Tanzania’s commendable on-field discipline, with just four cautions compared to Zanzibar’s five, became the crucial tiebreaker.
Uganda topped Pool 'B' with six points after beating South Sudan 2-0 in their final match also on Saturday and head coach, Morley Bywekwaso has expressed hopes of leading the boys to victory against Rwanda who finished second in Pool 'A'.
