THE national U-20 soccer team, Ngorongoro Heroes, is expected to play its Egyptian counterpart in two international friendly matches scheduled to take place early next month.

Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) Information Officer, Boniface Wambura, said the Egypt Football Association (EFA) requested the two international friendly matches for its U-20 side against Ngorongoro Heroes. "EFA has requested that the matches should be held on July 3 and 5 under special requirements.

Should the matches be held in Egypt, the hosts will meet Ngorongoro Heroes' accommodation, food and internal transport costs, apart from offering a training ground," said Wambura. "But if the matches are to be played in Dar es Salaam, TFF will foot the bills for the Egypt U-20 squad's accommodation, food, internal transport, as well as offering a training venue.

This means either of the two sides will have to meet their respective air transport and player allowances," he added. He said the TFF Secretariat was evaluating the costs to find out which will be the cheaper prior to suggesting the venue for the matches. Ngorongoro Heroes have qualified for the second round of the U-20 African Nations Cup (AFCON) Qualifiers after dispatching Sudan from the first round.

Heroes thrashed Sudan 3-1 in the first leg match played at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam before losing to the latter 2-1 in the return leg and progressed to the second round with 4-3 goals aggregate.

Thomas Ulimwengu, Ramadhan Singano and Simon Msuva were on target for Heroes in the first leg match and Ulimwengu, who plays professional soccer for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s giants, TP Mazembe, scored a crucial consolation goal in the return leg match in Khartoum to realize Heroes' qualification for the next stage.

Heroes are expected to clash with Nigeria in the second round, in which the first leg match will be played at the National Stadium on July 28, this year, while the return leg match will be held in Nigeria on August 11, this year. The U-20 AFCON finals will be hosted by Algeria next year.