Photo Credit - Tanzania Football Federation.
Tanzania forward Simon Msuva has downplayed claims they are afraid of coming up against Morocco when the two sides face off in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture at Stade Municipal on Wednesday.
While other teams have been playing in the qualifiers for the past five days, the East African nation have had enough time to prepare at Mkwakwani Stadium for the fixture in North Africa following the cancellation of their matchday five clash against Congo Brazzaville.
However, they will come up against a Morocco side, who are fresh from beating Niger 2-1 at Honneur Stadium and boost a galaxy of top players in Europe including Nayef Aguerd, who plays for La Liga club Real Sociedad, on loan from Premier League club West Ham United, Achraf Hakimi of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, Sofyan Amrabat, who features for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe, on loan from Serie A club Fiorentina and Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui to mention but a few.
“It is true Morocco have top players playing across different leagues in Europe, yes they are on a different level and it is well known, but as players we don’t need to focus on that, we only need to focus on the game, we don’t have to look at the names, we don’t care which teams they are playing for,” Msuva told Pan-Africa Football.
“In football anything is possible, and as players we need to plan and do our homework, we don’t need to fear that they have big name players, football is played and won on the pitch, not because of big name players.”
On his part, Tanzania head coach Hemed ‘Morocco’ Suleiman said: “We have had good preparations since we arrived here, we have recovered after the long travel, and all the players are psychically fit and psyched to take on Morocco.
“When I look at my players in training, they give me a lot of confidence, in the way they are looking strong and following instructions, we don’t have any injury concerns, which is a very positive thing, every player is trying to push, we know it will be a tough game for both sides, Morocco will want to win and qualify, we also want to win and close the gap.
“We lost against them at home, but we have always performed well when playing away, and we hope this will boost us even more. We came here (Morocco) early enough for the players to acclimatise, and I am confident before matchday every player will be accustomed to the weather around here.”
Taifa Stars are currently placed third in Group E with six points, three fewer than the Atlas Lions, who are leading the pile while Niger are second on six points.
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