All-Star Team Beats Mamelodi Sundowns

The All-Star Team

The COPA Coca-Cola All-Star team edged out Mamelodi Sundowns U15 side 1-0 in an entertaining exhibition match played at the High Performance Center in Pretoria, South Africa.

The All-Star team which was made up of 16 best players drawn from all the countries playing at the international camp tournament scored the solitary goal in the first half courtesy of Zimbabwean skillful player Tatendae Tumba.

The game started on a cautious tempo with both teams spraying passes around the midfield without showing any attacking potency. The All-Star team carved out the first chance of the game but Zambian Febian Chalu saw his shot fly across the face of goal,

It was not until the 15^th minute when the deadlock was broken. Congo Brazzaville’s Bienvenu Yala squirmed through the Sundowns defence before he was brought down when he ready to pull the trigger. The referee awarded All-Star a free kick which was curled in beautifully into the far corner by Tatendae.

The Sundowns players seized the match from then on but could not get an equalizer even after the interval.

“It was a good game and we are happy for the win. It was a really good performance by our team considering we trained only once,” said Tanzania’s Badru Othman.

The All-Star team which was coached by Banyana Banyana goalkeeping coach Thomas Nare consisted of two goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 6 midfielders and 3 strikers. Egypt had the most number of players which included goalkeeper Mahmoud Gael, defender Nagy Abdelmorin, midfielder Mohamed Adelsamie and forward Taher Heshem followed by champions Zimbabwe who had goalkeeper Tatenda Munditi, midfielder Learnmore Muyambo and forward Tatendae Tumba.

Tanzania’s Nasson Edward and Badru Othman as well as Uganda duo Godfrey Mbazira and Allan Khainja also made it to the list. Others included Algeria’s Merreli Islam, Kenya’s Musa Masika, John Mohai Mohai who played for Africa United, Zambia’s Febian Chali and Congolese Bienvenu Yala who played for the Dream Team.

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