Tanzania captain Mbwana Samatta admitted the quality between the Taifa Stars and Morocco played a key role in their 3-0 Cup of Nations opening defeat on Tuesday evening in San Pedro, Côte d’Ivoire.
Samatta was withdrawn early in the second half moments before his side was reduced to 10. Things moved from bad to worse for the Cecafa side as the 2022 World Cup semifinalists added two more to seal the three points.
“They were better than us in terms of keeping the ball,” Samatta said of Morocco, who enjoyed a 52 per cent ball possession.
“They had the ball, the possession, and scored goals there is nothing we can do. We have to accept they are a better side than us and we can change our next game.”
Romain Saiss put Morocco ahead on the half-hour mark with Azzedine Ounahi and Youssef En-Nesyri adding a goal each deep into the second half.
“I think it has to do with some experience. Morocco have a lot of experienced players. Our Tanzanian group is very young. They (Morocco) knew what to do and we were a little bit at the back. We did our best to try and win the game but unfortunately, we couldn’t. We respect Morocco...they have the best team in Africa right now,” added Samatta.
Tanzania takes on Zambia on Saturday with the final group match set to be against DR Congo three days later. Morocco’s focus turns to DR Congo followed by Zambia.
Meanwhile, Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) on Wednesday refuted the rumours on social media about their Cup of Nations team.
In a statement, Fecafoot secretary general Blaise Djounang said there was no quarrel between FA president Samuel Eto’o and head coach Rigobert Song and no former football stars were expunged from the Cameroonian delegation as propagated on social media.
“This crudely crafted fake news has the potential to destabilise the national team, its technical staff and its administrative support staff,” Djounang said.
“Given the risk of misinformation, Fecafoot urges Indomitable Lions’ fans to be more vigilant about misleading content and to seek information from the right sources,” he added.
"It calls on users of social networks to contribute through their goodwill and sense of restraint to preserving the serenity of our compatriots."
Cameroon began their Afcon campaign on Monday with a draw to a 10-man Guinea and play holders Senegal on Friday.
