A contingent of 19 players and ten officials of the Mozambique national team landed at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam yesterday ahead of the African Nations Cup qualifier first leg tie.

The Stars’ tie against the Mambas as the Mozambique team is known will be played at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday.

Close to a second week now the Tanzania national team coach Jan Poulsen has been busy training his boys ahead of the match day.

The Mainland premier league has also been stalled to pave way for the encounter that will provide highlight on the home team’s chances to progress.

Mozambique is paired with Tanzania in the Nations Cup qualifiers for the second time since the run towards the 2008 finals in Ghana.

Unlike in the Ghana finals which Tanzania failed to cross the qualifier barrier, the first leg was played in Maputo that ended in barren draw.

The return leg saw Tanzania crashing before their own fans at the first competitive match inside the fully-packed newly built National Stadium in September 2007.

Stars played an international friendly against the Democratic Republic of Congo mid last week that ended in barren draw in Dar es Salaam.

It was the home side’s first ever friendly international since the beginning of the year and fans wait to see how the team is prepared for the Mozambique tie.

Home fans are still clouded with uncertainty on the degree of prowess of their team that failed to score past the dazzling RD Congo line-up.

Meanwhile, Tanzanian international Nizar Khalfan who is based in the United States has arrived in time for the Mozambique clash as confirmed by the Tanzania Football Federation’s information officer, Boniface Wambura yesterday.