Tanzania 0-1 Benin: Mounie strikes late to dim Stars in World Cup qualifier

Tanzania 0-1 Benin: Mounie strikes late to dim Stars in World Cup qualifier

Steve Mounie scored the lone goal as Benin defeated Tanzania to go top of J with seven points in a World Cup qualifier staged at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Thursday.

It was the Squirrels who made their intentions clear after just eight minutes of the match. Mohammed Hussein committed a foul in a good area for Benin. Poor marking allowed Jordan Adeoti to force Aishi Manula into a brilliant save.

That was a warning to Taifa Stars who reacted by increasing their tempo. They were almost rewarded in the 21st minute; Simon Msuva beat Benin goalkeeper Saturnin Allagbe to the long ball from the back. With an empty net in front of him, the attacker took a feeble shot which was cleared on the line by Cedric Hountondji.

Stars had chances to score in the first half, but Yasin Mzamiru and John Bocco did not capitalise on them. Mbwana Samatta also saw his shot blocked by a defender with the goalkeeper wrong-footed.

After the break, the Squirrels came back stronger, trying to use every opportunity they got to push the ball forward.

For the East Africans, the pressure was slowly building as the fans grew impatient with the missed opportunities. Jodel Dossou and Desire Azankpo came close in the early exchanges of the second half.

But they had to wait until the 71st minute to get the ball in the back of the net. The defenders failed to clear the danger and Mounie punished them to hand his team a massive advantage away.

82′ @TaifaStars_ 🇹🇿0-1 🇧🇯Benin

#FIFAWCQ2022 @CAF_Online @FIFAWorldCup

— TFF TANZANIA (@Tanfootball) October 7, 2021

With 10 minutes to go, Feisal Salum danced his way past the defenders, but instead of taking a shot, he opted to pass to Bocco and the ball was intercepted for a fruitless corner.

Samatta almost equalised in the 88th minute when he met a cross from the right, but his header missed the target by inches with the goalkeeper well beaten. Moments later, Abdul Suleiman beat his markers, only to see his effort hit the crossbar before going out for a goal kick. 

DR Congo defeated Madagascar 2-0 to go second on the table with five points. Tanzania are third with four while Madagascar are at the bottom with no points from three matches.

Tanzania XI: Aishi Manula, Bakari Mwamnyeto, Mohammed Hussein, Dickson Job, Israel Mwenda, Novatus Dismas, Yasin Mzamiru, Feisal Salum, Simon Msuva, John Bocco, Mbwana Samatta.

Benin XI: Saturnin Allagbe, Youssouf Assogba, Khaled Adenon, Cedric Hountondji, Olivier Verdon, David Kiki, Matteo Ahlinvi, Jordan Adeoti, Desire Azankpo, Jodel Dossou, Steve Mounie.