Tanzanite Queens face a must-win encounter against Canada today as Tanzania’s U-20 women’s national team fights to keep its hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the World Cup alive.
The Tanzanian side enters its final Group Stage match in Poland without a point after losing its opening two games, leaving victory against Canada as its only route to strengthening its qualification hopes.
Canada, meanwhile, have one point and will also be looking to finish the group stage on a positive note.
Tanzanite Queens head coach Bakari Shime said his team had worked on the weaknesses exposed in their opening matches and was ready to fight for maximum points.
“We have made corrections in areas where we experienced challenges to ensure we perform better in this match and get a positive result,” Shime said.
Shime said a victory would improve Tanzania’s chances of advancing to the next stage, although their fate would also depend on results from other groups.
Under the tournament format, the four best third-placed teams from the various groups will qualify for the knockout stage.
Tanzanite Queens therefore need to beat Canada and then wait for results elsewhere to determine whether their points and goal difference will be enough to secure one of the available best-third-placed slots.
The match presents Tanzania with little room for error, with the team needing both a strong performance and a favourable outcome to extend its World Cup campaign in Poland.