The national U-17 football team, Serengeti Boys, face another test of character when they take on Angola in their second match of the ongoing Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Libreville, Gabon.
The Serengeti Boys made their bow at the U-17 Africa
Cup of Nations on Monday, settling for a barren draw with holders Mali
in their Group B opener at the Stade de l'Amitie in Libreville.
Bakari Shime's side
need to take maximum points from the Young Palancas Negras today to
stand a good chance of making it to the semi-finals of the competition. A
win will take their points tally to four points, the maximum that can
be attained by any other team in the group after the first two rounds
action.
The final group match will be against Niger, who played out a 2-2 draw with Angola
in their opening match. The Boys are oozing with confidence after
turning in an industrious performance against group favourites, Mali.
Shime's lads really
gave a good account of themselves to hold the highly rated Eagles in
their first ever game at the biggest stage. Shime sounded optimistic
ahead of today's encounter against Angola and promised to go on the offensive.
"We are going to approach the match against Angola
with all seriousness because there are no easy teams in this
competition," said Shime. "We need to attack more in order to score
goals and hopefully the boys will put up a brave performance as they did
against Mali. We need to be more aggressive offensively but also stay
cautious in defense in order to get a good result," he added.
The top four teams
will qualify for the Under -17 Fifa World Cup in India in October which
gives Shime and his Boys an extra incentive to do well.
Against Mali, Shime
opted for a defensive approach and succeeded to shut out Mali's
attacking players throughout the encounter with goalkeeper Ramadhan
Kabwili and his defenders turning in a strong show.
But today, the Boys
tactician must ensure his charges go on the offensive to try and garner
a vital win in their pursuit of a last-four berth. Striker Yohana
Mkomola was starved of services against Mali and will need more support
upfront to give Serengeti Boys the much needed cutting edge.
In the other Group B
match today, holders Mali will square up against Niger at the same
venue in Brazzaville. The biennial international youth football
tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for players aged 17 and below, will see the top four teams qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India.