As Taifa Stars continue their fight for second place in Group E to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Head Coach Hemed Suleiman “Morocco” says his new system—where every player on the pitch is capable of scoring—will be the key to overcoming Niger today at the New Amaan Complex Stadium in Zanzibar.
Stars face a tough challenge in their seventh Group E match as they chase a ticket to the World Cup finals set for next year in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The team’s only hope now is to finish second, as Morocco have already qualified from the group with 21 points, followed by Stars with 10 and Zambia with six.
The group winners will qualify directly, while the best runners-up from the nine groups will advance to the second round of playoffs, eventually facing teams from other continents for a place in the finals.
For Taifa Stars, the task is to win their remaining two matches—against Niger today and Zambia in the finale—to finish with 16 points. However, the chances of being among the best second-placed teams remain slim, given the points tallies of other groups’ runners-up.
Group A is led by Egypt with 19 points, followed by Burkina Faso with 14, and Sierra Leone with 9, with each team having three matches left. In Group B, DR Congo lead with 16, Senegal follow with 15, and Sudan have 12, also with three games remaining. Group C is topped by South Africa with 16, ahead of Benin (11) and Nigeria (10). Group D leaders are Cape Verde with 16, followed by Cameroon with 15 and Libya with 11. Group F has Ivory Coast on 19 points, Gabon on 18, and Burundi with 10.
Group G leaders are Algeria with 18, followed by Uganda and Mozambique with 12 each, and Guinea on 10, all with three matches left. Group H sees Tunisia leading with 19, Namibia with 12, and both Liberia and Equatorial Guinea with 10. In Group I, Ghana top with 16, followed by Comoros (15), Madagascar (13), and Mali (12), each with three games to go.
Looking ahead to today’s clash with Niger, speaking yesterday in Zanzibar, Coach Morocco said he has introduced the new system to address the team’s biggest weakness—poor finishing.
“In modern football, coaches have simplified systems so that any player can score. We have tried this with our team and it has worked in some CHAN matches. We’ve even seen defenders scoring, so I brought that system here.”
“I see an improvement compared to before. We are scoring, although not in big numbers, and this is because we must admit we have a shortage in attack. You can see how difficult it is to find a natural number 9 in our country right now,” Morocco said.
He explained that the problem does not start with the national team but with clubs, which are responsible for developing players for Taifa Stars.
“Scoring starts at the clubs. At the national team, you just take those who are ready and put them to work. But if there’s a problem at club level, it affects the national team too. That’s why we came up with this alternative system,” he added.
Stars will play today’s match at 4:00 p.m., just three days after their 1-1 draw against Congo last Friday at the Alphonce Massemba-Debat Stadium in Brazzaville.
