Thursday, 5 November 2026
Kenyan Digest

There is no character in our team – Amunike

11 min read
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Tanzania head coach Emmanuel Amunike before a past presser. PHOTO/ESPN

CAIRO, Egypt, Jun 28 – Taifa Stars head coach Emmanuel Amunike has delivered a scathing analysis of his side, saying they lack the character and experience to play at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as most of his players play locally.

Tanzania officially bowed out of the competition after losing 3-2 to Kenya on Thursday night and Amunike wrapped up his charges, saying they lost because they did not know what to do at crucial moments of the game.

“The reality is that in a game of football if you can’t manage the game to your advantage you will pay for it. We started the game in a very good pace and scored an early goal, but in the second half we committed a lot of mistakes,” the Nigerian legend said.

“In this tournament we are not in a position to compete. There is no character in our team because most players play in Tanzania. We lack the experience but it is a good thing to come to AFCON; we hope we can learn on this and build on this for the future,”

Tanzania players line up before their Africa Cup of Nations match against enya at the June 30 Stadium on Cairo on June 27, 2019. PHOTO/CAF

“We were privileged to qualify after a long time. Everyone wants to do well and win their games, but the reality remains we lack a lot of experience, we lack character and we lack maturity,” the tactician added in his scathing assessment of Tanzania’s failure.

The Taifa Stars have most of their players playing locally and their most experienced lot are skipper Mbwana Samatta, Thomas Ulimwengu and Himid Mao who all play outside the country.

Amunike believes the local league in Tanzania does not offer much of a challenge especially that according to him, there are only two big teams in the country; Simba and Yanga.

“I think more players need to go out of Tanzania and play at a league where they can grow and compete with other players from Africa and the rest of the world. Our players need exposure. Hopefully in future we can be much better and in a position to compete,” the coach noted.

Tanzania finish off their campaign against Algeria on Monday with the Fennecs already qualified for the round of 16 and will only be looking to pick points and top the group.

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