Today

Yemen vs Zanzibar 1pm
Somalia vs Sudan 3pm

Asmara, Eritrea - A 44th minute penalty is all that Eritrea needed to beat Tanzania 1-0 in the opening match of the Cecafa (Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations) Under-20 tournament in Asmara Saturday.

The match at the National Stadium saw Abraham Tendros convert past Tanzania first choice goalkeeper Wandwi Jackson for the victory.

About 20,000 chanting fans were at hand to witness the first match of the two-week tournament that has brought together eight Cecafa members and Yemen as guests. It was preceded by brief but quality opening ceremony.

Tanzania played the final five minutes with infield player Tumba Swedi in goal after Jackson was motored off with a dislocated elbow. The incident came at a time when the Tanzanians had exhausted their three substitutions.

The injury on Jackson came after he barred off a hard shot from Idris Ismail in a move that could have given the hosts a more comfortable win.

Tanzania coach Rodrigo Stockler (Brazil) hailed the Eritreans as a strong side that must be taken seriously in the tournament.

"I watched them in Khartoum (Under-17) and in the senior Challenge Cup in Nairobi in 2009 and I was sure we had a match in our hands.

"We shall work on rectifying our mistakes with the purpose of pulling off better results in our remaining three matches,” he said at the post match press conference.

The Tanzanians still have Somalia (on Tuesday), Kenya (August 21) and Sudan (on August 23) to contend with.

Ends