AFCON: Tanzania eye historic first win against Super Eagles

Tanzania may be one of the few teams yet to record a victory at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), but head coach Miguel Gamondi believes that long-standing record could finally change when his side faces Nigeria at the 2025 AFCON in Morocco on Tuesday.

The Taifa Stars have participated in three AFCON tournaments — 1980, 2019, and 2023 — but are still searching for their first win after nine matches without victory at the continental showpiece. Despite this history, Gamondi remains optimistic that his team is ready to turn the page.

Tanzania’s Group C opening clash against the Super Eagles will mark their 10th AFCON appearance, a milestone the coach hopes will coincide with a long-awaited breakthrough. He expressed confidence in his players’ preparation, mindset, and growing belief ahead of the crucial encounter.

The clash at the Complexe Sportif de Fès will be only the second AFCON meeting between Nigeria and Tanzania, coming 45 years after their first encounter at the competition. In 1980, on Nigerian soil, the Super Eagles defeated the Taifa Stars 3–1 in the opening match of the tournament.

Their most recent meetings came during qualification for the 2017 AFCON, when both teams played out a goalless draw in Dar es Salaam before Nigeria edged the return fixture 1–0 in Uyo on September 3, 2016.

“It’s our dream, and nobody can stop us from believing and dreaming,” Gamondi said during his pre-match press conference. “If you don’t have a dream, it doesn’t make sense to sleep too much. I respect Nigeria a lot, but in football anything is possible. We are here to make a good performance.”

The Argentine coach admitted Nigeria’s superior pedigree but insisted his side were not resigned to defeat.

“I’m very realistic about the possibilities. Maybe Nigeria have 99 per cent, but you never know,” he said. “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.”

After Tuesday’s opener against Nigeria, Tanzania will face Uganda in their second Group C match on Friday before concluding their group campaign against Tunisia next Tuesday.

Tanzania’s AFCON debut came in 1980 in Nigeria, where they lost all three group matches, starting with the 3–1 defeat to the Super Eagles, followed by losses to Egypt and Ivory Coast.

In 2019, former Super Eagles winger Emmanuel Amuneke guided them back to the tournament after a 39-year absence, but they again exited without a win, losing to Senegal, Kenya and Algeria.

At the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast, the Taifa Stars showed signs of progress, drawing against Zambia and DR Congo after an opening defeat to Morocco.