Three of the Taifa Stars players have been ruled out of the Maputo-bound flight tomorrow ahead of the African Nations Cup qualifier return leg tie against Mozambique to be played on Sunday.

The trio, according to the Tanzania Football Federation’s information officer, Boniface Wambura, include second choice goalkeeper Mwadini Ali, defender Nassoro Said and Waziri Salum. Unfortunately all the players hail from Zanzibar.

The kick off time is 16:00 hours at the new stadium known as Zampeto on the outskirts of the Maputo city.

Coach Kim Poulsen said he is working around the clock to sharpen his strikers who did not perform within expectations despite the team’s 2-1 goal victory against Gambia over the weekend in Dar es Salaam.

Stars defenders had to bailout strikers during the match against Gambia that kept the World Cup qualification hopes on track.

The teams drew 1-1 during the first leg match played at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on February 29.

The team needs to score and then defend tightly to revive the qualification dream.

 “We need a killer against Mozambique and I hope the strikers will do a good job this time around as we strive to sail through,” said Poulsen.

The Danish coach expressed hope as defender Aggrey Morris, who was suspended during the match against Cote d’Ivoire, is back into the team.

Also in the line up will be midfielder Nurdin Bakari and striker Thomas Ulimwengu who have been on sick bay to miss the two World Cup qualifier games a fortnight ago.