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Dar es Salaam. Young Africans (Yanga) and Simba officials have pledged to play hard in their upcoming quarterfinal return legs of the CAF Champions League.
Yanga will take on Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa at 9pm East African time on Friday at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
For their part, Simba will face Al Ahly at 11pm on the same day at the Cairo International Stadium in Egypt. In their first leg, Yanga recorded a goalless draw against Mamelodi Sundowns, while Simba suffered a 1-0 defeat against Al Ahly. Both matches were held at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Tanzania’s envoys are now facing challenging tasks to secure a spot in the semifinals of the CAF Champions league.
Yanga need at least a 1-1 draw to advance as a goalless draw will lead to a penalty shootout.
Simba, on the other hand, require a 1-0 victory to level the score and force the match into penalties as a goalless draw will edge them out of the competition.
Yanga president Hersi Saidi explained that they remain optimistic about qualifying for the semifinal despite playing away.
He cited injuries that sidelined their key players in the first leg against Mamelodi Sundowns, who fielded a full squad including seven players from the bronze-winning South African team at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Ivory Coast.
“We commend our players and technical staff for their impressive performance. The battle is not over until it is over,” said Hersi. He added that they are determined to secure a positive result and enter the semifinals.
On other hand, Simba’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Salim “Try Again” Abdallah, urged his players not to dwell on the past results and instead they should focus on their upcoming match in Cairo. Abdallah expressed his confidence in the players to overturn the score and qualify for the semifinals.
“Let’s put the previous results behind us and concentrate on the next match. We must turn the tables on them in their own backyard,” said Abdallah.
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