Tanzanian stars Simon Msuva and Dismas Novatus have promised to show resilience when the Africa Cup of Nations finals start in Ivory Coast early next year.
The Taifa Stars who will play at the Afcon finals for only the fourth time in history were drawn against heavy weights Morocco, DR Congo and Zambia – all former winners in Group F.
“We have already gained experience in this competition and we are aware of the strength of these two teams we’ve played before,” said striker Simon Msuva, referring to DR Congo and Zambia as quoted by Cafonline.
“The important thing is for us to go and fight hard. Even those nations seen as African football giants started like us. We are now going up and I’m sure we will shock them.”
Youngster Novatus who plays his club football in Ukraine with Shaktar Donetsk believes the gap between the small and big nations has narrowed.
“There are no big names anymore in football. We will not be weak but will fight hard as the nation’s hope.”
Tanzania beat Uganda to the second slot in the qualifying group that had Algeria topping the group.
The top two in each of the six groups will advance to the knockout rounds along with the best four third-placed teams.