Int'l Friendly : Tanzania - Brazil

Posted Monday, June 07, 2010 by Goal.com

Dunga's side will be looking for another easy win on African soil.

Kick-Off: Monday, June 7, 16:00 CET.
National Stadium, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Historic Occasion

Tanzania are a small footballing nation in central east Africa and they will probably play their most historic game on Monday. The Taifa Stars will host five-time former world champions Brazil in a friendly international at the Dar es Salaam National Stadium.

Tanzanians are brimming with joy that they will take on arguably the most popular football team on the planet and although they must know that defeating Dunga's men is almost impossible, they will remember how they defeated 2010 World Cup finalists New Zealand 2-1 in Dar es Salaam last June.

Indeed, Tanzanian football has been making progress since the start of the second half of the last decade and the time has come for the Taifa Stars to prove their mettle against the very best. Of course, no one seriously expects Tanzania to win, but a solid and brave performance is overdue to the football followers of Tanzania.

Final Warm-Up Game

The Brazilian national football team is arguably the most popular national football team on the planet and they created history as well as winning hearts on Wednesday when they played Zimbabwe in Harare. It was, of course, a friendly international that Dunga's side eventually won 3-0 but they had made several thousands of Zimbabwean football followers happy by their mere presence in the African nation.

On Saturday the Selecao are going to construct history too as they will play Tanzania in Dar es Salaam. Some could argue that playing weaker opposition such as Zimbabwe and Tanzania is not the best way to prepare for the world's biggest showpiece event, but the Brazilian players are acclimatising to African conditions and are facing opponents that will potentially not give them a hard time.

However, there are one or two concerns in the Brazilian camp. Although Kaka has allayed fears about his injuries and insists that "by the time we play the opener I will be in great condition", questions persist over his form. Moreover, there were reports about him and Felipe Melo engaging in a bust-up at a training session. Julio Cesar and Michel Bastos are reportedly struggling with injuries.

FORM GUIDE

Tanzania

March 3: Tanzania 2-3 Uganda (Friendly)

January 4: Tanzania 0-1 Ivory Coast (Friendly)

December 10: Rwanda 2-1 Tanzania (Friendly)

December 8: Tanzania 4-0 Eritrea (Friendly)

December 4: Tanzania 1-0 Burundi (Friendly)

Brazil

June 2: Zimbabwe 0-3 Brazil (Friendly)

March 2 Republic of Ireland 0-2 Brazil (Friendly)

November 17 Oman 0-2 Brazil (Friendly)

November 14 Brazil 1-0 England (Friendly)

October 14 Brazil 0-0 Venezuela (World Cup Qualifier)

TEAM NEWS

Tanzania

Tanzania will play Rwanda in Kigali in a crucial Champions of African Nations (CHAN) qualifier on Sunday, just a day before they take on Brazil at home. This will mean that Taifa Stars coach Marcio Maximo might have to change his side a bit, although the players won't need too much motivation to play what will probably be the game of their lives.

Mussa Hassan Mgosi, Mrisho Ngassa and Nadir Haroub all are expected to start against Brazil, even though they will be in action on Sunday. However, defender Juma Jabu and midfielders Jabir Aziz, Uhuru Suleiman and Abdulhalim Homoud will miss the encounter because of injuries.

Maximo has called in the services of foreign-based Mwarami Mohamed, Danny Mrwanda, Nizar Khalfan and Henry Joseph. Maximo has also said that he will take both of the matches seriously, and the fact that his foreign-based players are ineligible to feature in the CHAN qualifying game against Rwanda on Sunday could make it slightly easier for him should injuries or exhaustion creep in.

Brazil

Coach Dunga will be without Julio Cesar, who was substituted midway through the first half of the game against Zimbabwe and is trying to recover in time for the finals. Michel Bastos too is reportedly struggling but Kaka appears to have put all his injury worries behind him. However, Dunga could field some of his second string players on Monday afternoon.

Probable Line-up (4-2-3-1): Gomes, Maicon, Lucio, Thiago Silva, Gilberto; Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo; Elano, Kaka, Robinho; Luis Fabiano

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Mrisho Ngassa (Tanzania)

The 21-year-old is said to be the best Tanzanian player and indeed he has already been creating a name for himself. Ngassa was invited for a two-week trial at English Premier League club West Ham United in April 2009. Recently signed by Azam FC from Young Africans (Yanga), Ngassa is a winger whose main assets are speed and dribbling skills that will come in handy against Brazil on Monday.

Kaka (Brazil)

The Real Madrid midfielder wasn't in his best of form against Zimbabwe last week but he will be doing his best to come into form on Monday afternoon. Kaka is a vital player for Dunga's side and he will be threatening for the Tanzanian defence.

PREDICTION

Brazil should win this game comfortably.

Tanzania 0-4 Brazil