Tanzania head coach Kim Poulsen insists he is determined to settle their debt with Harambee Stars in the near future.
The two nations were meant to lock horns in their second build-up match at Nyayo Stadium on Thursday but the game was abruptly called off following the death of Tanzania President, John Pombe Magufuli on the eve of the encounter.
While fielding questions from the local media at a Nairobi hotel hours after the game was cancelled, Poulsen said he hoped Tanzania would find an opportunity to flex muscles with Kenya before their African Cup of Nations qualifier against Equatorial Guinea next week on Thursday.
“I was only recently appointed as Taifa Stars coach and I'm still trying to learn the strengths and weaknesses of my players. Our friendly match against Kenya would have helped me gauge my squad before we face Equatorial Guinea,” said Poulsen.
Kenya emerged the better side when the teams met in their first encounter at the same venue on Monday afternoon after seeing off the visitors 2-1 with goals from Eric Kapaito and Abdalla Hassan. Ayub Lyanga gave Taifa Stars the only reason to celebrate.
Even as Poulsen mustered up enough courage to speak, his players remained pensive and dejected. The tactician is nonetheless determine to cheer them up ahead of their qualifiers against Equatorial Guinea and Libya.
“We are looking for ways to support and help the players so that they can put the unfortunate incident behind them and start focusing on the tasks ahead.”
