Simon Msuva celebrates at the final whistle - Photo TFF Media.
Tanzania striker Simon Msuva has revealed he knew he will get the goal to take the Taifa Stars to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
The Taifa Stars finally qualified on the final day of the qualifiers following a 1-0 victory against Guinea at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Tuesday. It was Msuva, who scored the all important goal in the second half to give the Taifa Stars the remaining group ticket to the 35th edition of the African tournament.
“We dominated the game, we created a lot of chances and most of those chances they came from me, I told myself I should not give up, I should continue to fight for the team and reach our mission (to qualify),” said Msuva.
“I had the belief that I will score, to help my team and my country because it was not all about us players but the entire Tanzania nation, we were representing Tanzania, so I had to fight and justify my role in the team and I finally scored and we got the result that we wanted.”
“Before I scored I was asking myself, what will I tell my fellow Tanzanians if we don’t qualify, it is the reason I never gave up, a day before the game, I asked God to guide us so that we put a good fight, and we indeed fought for the nation and I am happy we have qualified.”
On whether Tanzania relied on him most during the qualifiers, Msuva said: “It was not about Msuva, it was about the entire team, we decided to fight for the ticket as a team including our technical bench who gave us tips on how to play against Guinea. We tackled the game as a final, we knew it will be tough but we went into the game with one mission, to win.”
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