Dar es Salaam. For too long, Tanzanian football has lived in the shadows of continental giants. For too long, fans have been left clinging to memories of potential rather than celebration of results.
But on Saturday evening, under the floodlights of Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, something shifted.
It wasn’t just a win. It was a declaration.
Taifa Stars 2, Burkina Faso 0 a scoreline that says little about the dominance Tanzania displayed in their opening match of the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN).
This was a performance brimming with intelligence, composure, discipline, and above all, belief.
Led by head coach Hemed Suleiman ‘Morocco’, the Stars walked onto the pitch with more than tactics they had intent.
From the very first whistle, it was clear: Tanzania had not come to participate, they had come to compete.
No More Warm-Ups
Forget the friendlies in Karatu against Uganda and Senegal. That version of Taifa Stars was only a sketch.
On Saturday, we witnessed the full painting.
Lining up in a 4-3-3 formation, Tanzania quickly morphed into a fluid 3-4-3 when in possession.
The fullbacks surged forward, midfielders shifted laterally to cover spaces, and the entire system moved like a living organism compact when defending, expansive when attacking.
Tanzania’s possession figure 61 percent only tells part of the story.
The pressing, the transitions, and the spatial discipline they displayed were hallmarks of elite preparation.
Morocco’s Blueprint
Burkina Faso are known for building play through their central midfielders channeling attacks through the spine.
Morocco knew this. And he devised a plan to neutralize it.
The answer? A tight vertical pressing structure led by Yusuph Kagoma, Mudathir Yahya, and Feisal Salum.
The trio worked like a rotating press unit, shrinking the central corridors, intercepting passes, and forcing Burkina to go wide where they were less effective.
The press wasn’t just energetic it was intelligent. Timing, spacing, and collective movement were precise.
The Tanzanians weren’t just chasing the ball; they were guiding it, forcing Burkina into traps.
The Science of Goals
If football is a game of moments, Taifa Stars made theirs count.
The first goal came at a psychologically pivotal time the 45+2nd minute, just before the half-time whistle.
It was a penalty, earned after Clement Mzize was hacked down inside the area by Franc Tologo.
Abdul Suleiman ‘Sopu’ stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way same corner he buried one against Senegal in the warm-up match.
But this was no accident.
The penalty was the result of a system, a designed overload that drew the Burkina Faso left-back out of his zone via a wide run from Idd Nado, allowing Mzize to dart into the vacant channel.
The defense was caught off guard, and Tanzania’s coaching team got their reward.
The second goal in the 71st minute was even more telling.
This time it was Nado again, this time as the provider.
From the left wing, he whipped in a dangerous cross into the box.
And charging in not a striker, not an attacking midfielder, but fullback Mohammed Hussein ‘Tshabalala’ rose to meet the ball with a thunderous header.
The VAR check confirmed what the stadium already knew: it was 2-0, and Tanzania were flying.
This wasn’t luck. This was choreography.
Midfield Dominance
If you win the midfield, you win the war. Tanzania didn’t just win it they occupied it.
Feisal Salum, in the role of a deep-lying playmaker, dictated tempo, broke lines, and calmed the game when needed.
His range of passing and reading of play was on full display.
Kagoma was the shield tactically disciplined, physically assertive, and positionally perfect.
He dropped into the backline when needed, forming a makeshift back three that initiated Tanzania’s attacking shape.
Mudathir was the metronome linking, probing, and shielding.
He slowed the game when required and launched vertical passes that unlocked pressure zones.
Burkina Faso were suffocated. They couldn’t breathe in midfield. The statistics proved it.
Coach Morocco
After the match, head coach Hemed Morocco was visibly pleased but measured.
“I’ve said it before this year, we have a good and strong team. I believe this squad can go further than expected.”
He acknowledged the past disappointments in CHAN particularly Tanzania’s repeated exits in the group stage but insisted that this is a new era.
“Yes, we’ve had poor showings in the past. But this is a different tournament. We are at home, and the players are showing real commitment.”
Burkina Faso head coach Issa Balbone, meanwhile, blamed his side’s late arrival in Dar es Salaam for their sluggish start, citing both mental and physical fatigue.
But excuses rarely hold weight when you’re outplayed on every blade of grass.
