- Poulsen was hired as the head coach last year
- He has been fired after Tanzania lost 1-0 to Uganda in a CHAN qualifier
- He will remain as the head of youth development
The Tanzanian Football Federation has fired Taifa Stars coach Kim Poulsen after the team’s 1-0 loss to Uganda in the first leg of their African nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier in Dar es Salaam.
“The Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) has reached an agreement to part ways with Taifa Stars team coach Kim Poulsen from the technical bench along with his assistants. Both sides have reached the agreement after a joint session. For now, the technical bench will be led by Hanour Janza assisted by Meck Maxime and goalkeeper coach Juma Kaseja,” a statement from TFF said.
The Danish coach who was in his second stint as the head coach of Tanzania, will now remain head of the youth teams until the end of his contract in 2024.
Poulsen was appointed in February 2021, signing a three-year deal to replace Burundian Etienne Ndayiragijje.
And now, he has seen his second coming flush away prematurely. Tanzania will now look towards Zambian tactician Janza to aid them overturn the 1-0 defficit to Uganda and qualify for CHAN, scheduled for January next year in Algeria.
Janza took charge of the Chipolopolo from 2014-2015, leading them to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. The former Napsa Stars technical director will be assisted by Maxime and revered former Tanzania goalkeeper Kaseja.
The 37-year-old Kaseja has retired from active football, having had a distinguished career for the national team, managing 67 caps in over a decade. He finished off his career at KMC in the Tanzanian top flight at the end of last season.
Tanzania stunned at home by Uganda
Tanzania were stunned at home by the Ugandans, losing by a solitary goal. Travis Mutyaba stepped off the bench to score the winner for the Cranes who now have a massive advantage heading into the return leg.
After a cagy first half, Mutyaba struck late in the second half due to a defensive error. The forward dispossessed a Tanzanian defender of the ball on the right before storming into the box and firing an unstoppable shot past keeper Aishi Manula.
The Ugandans who had lost to Zanzibar in a build up match before the game managed to hold on to the lead.
The return leg will be played in Kampala and the Cranes will need in the least a draw to qualify for the tournament slated for Algeria next year. Tanzania have to win the game by a margin of more than two goals to advance while a 1-0 victory will force the game to penalties.
Meanwhile in another match, Sudan have one foot into qualification after thrashing Djibouti 4-1 in a match played in Marrakech, Morocco. Djibouti are hosting their home games in North Africa due to the unavailability of a suitable stadium in their home.
Mohamed Abdulrahman netted a brace, while Alsamani Alsawi and Yasir Mozamil had one each as Sudan picked the healthy win ahead of the return fixture in Omdurman.
In other CHAN qualifiers, Nigeria’s Super Eagles face another elimination by Ghana, after they were beaten 2-0 in the first leg.
Youngster Daniel Barnieh Afriye scored the opener from the penalty spot to give the Black Stars a perfect start. This was his second goal in as many matches, having scored in the 4-0 demolition of Benin in the previous round of qualification.
Nigeria undone by poor finishing
Despite efforts to try and get back into the game, Nigeria was undone by poor decision making in the final third.
While they were unable to take their chances, Ghana made the most of their opportunities and with four minutes left, Hearts of Oak forward Seidu Suraj added a second for the home side as they took a vital victory in Cape Coast.
The return match is scheduled for Abuja next weekend with Nigeria needing to win by at least two goals to have a qualification chance.
Ghana have finished runners-up in two of the first three editions of the CHAN but have failed to qualify for the last three tournaments.
Meanwhile, Nigeria have qualified only three times in six attempts and crashing 4-0 to hosts Morocco in the 2018 final.
In Luanda, hosts Angola beat South Africa 2-0, with the bafana Bafana having fielded a weakened team as most of their star players were unavailable due to club commitments. Goals in either half from Augusto Carneiro and Jaredi Teixeira gave Angola the victory.
The South Africans have a dismal CHAN record, qualifying only once, with their second finals appearance due to them being the 2014 hosts.
They were also eliminated by Angola in the 2016 qualifiers. They have a massive task to overturn the result at home next week and will need to win by a massive margin of more than three goals to advance.
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