Nairobi — Tanzanian Premier League champions Young Africans (Yanga) have qualified for the quarter finals of the CAF Champions League for the first time in the new era of the tournament after thrashing Algeria’s CR Belouizdad 4-0 in Dar es Salaam.
The victory took them to eight points, earning them an unassailable three-point lead to the Algerians with only one match left in the group phase.
They are just a point behind leaders and record champions Al Ahly, who earned a 1-0 win over Medeama SC earlier on Friday to also book a spot in the last eight.
Mudathir Yahya, Stephane Aziz Ki, Kennedy Musonda and Joseph Guede gave Wananchi the victory at home, keeping their dream of replicating last season’s form alive.
Last season, Yanga made it all the way to the final of the CAF Confederation Cup, losing to Algeria’s USM Alger by a slim margin. This year, their ambition is to do the same in the Champions League.
The victory against the Algerians was sweet revenge for Yanga, who lost 3-0 when they faced them in the first leg in Algiers.
In Group D, they have won twice and drawn twice. They will face off with Al Ahly in Cairo in their last match of the group phase next weekend, to ascertain who finishes top of the table with only a single point separating them.
Meanwhile, their arch rivals Simba SC will have to wait until the final day of the group stage to have a shot at the quarter finals after playing to a 0-0 draw against Ivory Coast’s Asec Mimosas earlier on Friday.
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Simba are second in Group B and to qualify for the quarter finals, have to beat Botswana’s Jwaneng Galaxy at home next weekend by a healthy margin. Last year’s Champions League finalists Wydad Athletic Club beat Jwaneng 1-0 over the weekend to move to six points, same as Simba, but with an inferior goal difference.
Meanwhile in Group A, both TP Mazembe and Mamelodi Sundowns have progressed to the quarter finals after winning their penultimate round matches.
Mazembe beat Pyramids of Egypt 3-0 while Sundowns beat Mauritania’s FC Nouadhibou 2-0 away from home in the other group match.
Both sides are on 10 points and identical goal aggregate, but the Congolese champions sit top on better head to head record as they beat the South Africans 1-0 in Lubumbashi in the first leg.
They will face off in the return fixture this weekend in Pretoria.
