DAR ES SALAAM, Oct. 2 -- THE ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers should be treated as a valuable warm-up test for Taifa Stars ahead of next years finals.

Tanzania, alongside Kenya and Uganda, has already qualified automatically as one of the host nations. That, however, does not make these matches less important.

They give us a chance to test the team, identify weaknesses and understand how much improvement is needed before the finals begin.

Taifa Stars opened the qualifying campaign with a disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Guinea-Bissau before drawing away against Madagascar.

The results have not been ideal, but the two matches have provided important lessons. The biggest concern is finishing.

Taifa Stars can create chan...