THE Tanzania national football team, Taifa Stars, will play Indonesia in an international friendly match aimed at preparing the side for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers that are set to resume in June with a trip to Zambia.

The news that Indonesia became the official opponent of Taifa Stars in the international match was shared directly through the official Instagram account of the South East Asian country’s football federation.

The Indonesian football federation, PSSI, confirmed that the match will be held on June 2, 2024, at the Madya Stadium, Jakarta. 

However, it remains to be seen how Tanzania will juggle that schedule as it coincides with the CRDB Bank Federation Cup final match.

Tanzania is currently ranked higher than Indonesia in the FIFA World Rankings. 

Tanzania is in the 119th place, while Indonesia is fifteen places behind in the 134th spot in the world rankings.

This will be the second meeting between Tanzania and Indonesia. 

When the teams met for the first time in 1997, Indonesia claimed a 3-1 home victory. Edibily Lunyamila scored the consolation strike for Taifa Stars.

In the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, Tanzania is in CAF Group E alongside Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, Niger and Seychelles. 

Eritrea withdrew before the first matches were played.

Taifa Stars began their campaign with a 1-0 away victory over Niger before falling to a 2-0 home defeat in the hands of group favourites Morocco in November, last year. 

As a result, Taifa Stars are fourth in their group though tied on points with Morocco, Zambia and Niger.

With the World Cup format changing to accommodate 48 teams from the next edition, nine group winners from the qualifiers will directly qualify for the global showpiece, while the four best runners-up will enter the playoff round to compete for a chance to qualify for the United States of America, Mexico, and Canada.

In March’s international window, Taifa Stars, who are currently under caretaker coach Hemed ‘Morocco’ Suleiman, played two friendlies, losing 1-0 to high-ranked Bulgaria before thumping lowly ranked Mongolia 3-0 in the newly launched FIFA Series mini-tournament played in Azerbaijan.

A largely youthful and experimental Taifa Stars squad is currently in Saudi Arabia for two friendly games against Sudan including Thursday’s 2-1 loss.

As the domestic season comes to a close on June 2, following the CRDB Bank Federation Cup final, Coach Morocco and the rest of the team are expected to assemble after the NBC Premier League campaign which ends next week.