Former Super Eagles winger and Tanzania head coach, Emmanuel Amuneke says he has turned his attention fully on preparations, which have already commenced for the Africa Cup of Nations, where he hopes to make more marks, following his historic feat of taking the country back to the continental soccer showpiece after a 39-year absence.
A 3-0 win at home against Uganda over the weekend, coupled with a draw for Lesotho away to Cape Verde, meant the 1994 African Footballer of The Year took Tanzania back to the Nations Cup.
Amuneke also became the second Nigerian from the Tunisia ’94 AFCON winning Eagles, after the late Stephen Keshi with Togo, to qualify another African country for the continental soccer showpiece.
Come June, Amuneke will lead The Taifa Stars to only their second AFCON outing ever after, incidentally, getting their debut in his country, Nigeria, when he was just 10 years old.
Speaking with www.brila.net, the Chile 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning Golden Eaglets coach said he is happy to achieve as much for Tanzania, but stressed that they have to put the celebrations aside in order to prepare well for the championship proper.
“Preparations have already commenced for the AFCON proper, regardless of the fact that we have qualified”
“We have to look at areas and change our mindset from qualifying to go and compete……So at the moment, we want to sit down, allow the euphoria of qualifying as a team sink in, and then we see how we can improve as a team”, he concluded.
Amuneke admitted he is happy to make history with Tanzania, who finished second in Group L with eight points, five behind Uganda, and said they now have to start making plans for a solid outing in Egypt.
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