Tanzania will aim to make history when they face Nigeria in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations opener on Tuesday at the Complexe Sportif de Fès in Morocco. The Taifa Stars have yet to record a win in the tournament, but head coach Miguel Gamondi insists his team is ready to defy the odds.
“It’s our dream, and nobody can stop us from believing and dreaming,” Gamondi said during a pre-match press conference. “I respect Nigeria a lot, but in football anything is possible. We are here to make a good performance.”
Tanzania have participated in three AFCON tournaments—1980, 2019, and 2023—playing nine matches without a victory. Their debut in 1980 saw them lose all three group games, including a 3–1 defeat to Nigeria in Lagos. After a 39-year absence, they returned in 2019 under former Super Eagles winger Emmanuel Amuneke but again exited without a win, losing to Senegal, Kenya, and Algeria. At the 2023 finals in Ivory Coast, the Taifa Stars showed signs of progress, drawing against Zambia and DR Congo after an opening defeat to Morocco.
This year’s Group C opener will mark only the second AFCON meeting between Tanzania and Nigeria, coming 45 years after their first clash in 1980. In all competitions, Nigeria remain unbeaten in seven previous encounters with Tanzania, recording four wins and three draws.
Despite the huge gap in experience and pedigree, Gamondi remains optimistic. “I’m very realistic about the possibilities. Maybe Nigeria have 99 per cent, but you never know. I am confident we can do something. If we do what we need to do and are able to win, beating Nigeria would feel like winning the AFCON for us, especially at the start of the tournament.”
Following their opener against Nigeria, Tanzania will face Uganda on Friday before concluding their group campaign against Tunisia next Tuesday. The team will rely on captain Mbwana Samatta, winger Simon Msuva, creative midfielder Feisal Salum, and wing-back Mohammed Hussein to lead a disciplined effort, aiming to frustrate the heavily favoured Super Eagles and pull off a historic result.
As Tanzania chase their first-ever AFCON victory, the eyes of fans across Africa and the diaspora will be on the Taifa Stars, who hope that decades of near misses and long-standing droughts can finally give way to a moment of continental breakthrough.