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Coach Emmanuel Amuneke yesterday made history for Tanzania after tutoring the country’s senior national team to secure a place in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after 39 years absence from the continent’s top-flight football.
Tanzania’s Mbwana Samatta was part of the side that sealed qualification for Egypt 2019 with victory over Uganda after defeating their rivals Uganda 3-0 in Dar es Salaam to qualify for the AFCON finals.
The Taifa Stars secured the victory they needed to join already-qualified Uganda from Group L.
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Lesotho drew 0-0 in Cape Verde, which confirmed Tanzania’s qualification as runners-up to Uganda in the group.
It means four East African teams – Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Kenya – will play at the finals in Egypt.
Uganda went into the derby in Tanzania having not conceded a single goal during their entire 2019 Nations Cup qualifying campaign.
The record ended emphatically in Dar es Salaam in their sixth and final group fixture with Simon Msuva beating Denis Onyango in Uganda’s goal in the 21st minute.
Experienced Erasto Nyoni added a second after the break with Aggrey Morris making it 3-0 to Tanzania on a memorable day for the hosts.
Despite the comfortable scoreline, it was still a nervous end to the match as Tanzania’s fans and players anxiously monitored news from Praia where – if Lesotho had won – their dream of qualifying would have ended.
