Belief Meets Pedigree: Tanzania vs Nigeria

Tanzania will head into their opening match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) today at 18:30 local time (17:30 GMT) aware that history is not on their side, yet confident this could be the moment it finally turns in their favour.

The Taifa Stars, Tanzania’s men national football team, have never won a match at the Africa Cup of Nations, and they have never beaten Nigeria’s Super Eagles in eight previous meetings. Yet ahead of their Group C clash at the 45,000-capacity Fes Stadium in Morocco, Tanzania head coach Miguel Gamondi insists his side is not short on belief.

“It’s our dream, and nobody can stop us from believing and dreaming,” Gamondi said during his pre-match press conference on Monday.

“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 also acknowledged Nigeria’s superior pedigree but rejected the idea that his team should feel beaten before kickoff.

“I’m very realistic about the possibilities. Maybe Nigeria have 99%, 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.”

Belief vs Pedigree As Tanzania Face Nigeria In AFCON Opener. Credit: CAF Online

For Nigeria, the stakes are different. Opening-day wins often set the tone, and any slip would immediately raise questions. Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle stressed that his players understand the importance of starting well.

“This is a big game because it is the first game, and the first game is very important,” Chelle said during his pre-match press conference.

“For sure, we want to win this game. Nigeria’s ambition at the tournament must be evident from the outset; the team is fully prepared to compete with confidence and purpose.”

Chelle further said that he had no time to ponder on the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

He insisted that past disappointments have no place in the team’s current mindset, which is to do very well at the AFCON tournament.

“We have a tournament, and we are here to be ambitious,” he said. “I don’t have the time to think about what happened before. The most important thing is the next game.”

The last time both teams met was during the 2017 AFCON qualifiers. The first match in Tanzania ended 0-0. Nigeria won the return match 1-0 in Uyo, with Kelechi Iheanacho scoring the only goal.

Nigeria and Tanzania first played each other in 1972 in a friendly match. Since then, they have met in AFCON games, World Cup qualifiers and friendly matches.

Tanzania vs Nigeria: Throughout History

• Nigeria 0-0 Tanzania (1972 friendly in Dar es Salaam).

• Nigeria 2-1 Tanzania (1972 friendly in Benin City).

Nigeria’s scorers: Victor Oduah, Sylvester Egborge-pen.

• Nigeria 3-2 Tanzania (1972 Friendly in Lagos).

Nigeria’s scorers: Gideon Njoku, Sunny Oyarekhua-2.

• Nigeria 2-1 Tanzania (1973 All-Africa Games in Lagos).

Nigeria’s scorers: Yakubu Mambo, Tony Igwe-2.

• Nigeria 0-0 Tanzania (1976 Friendly in Dar Es Salaam).

• Nigeria 3-1 Tanzania (1980 AFCON Group Stage)

Nigeria’s scorers: Muda Lawal, Ifeanyi Onyeadika, and Segun Odegbami. Nigeria ultimately emerged as the African champions as hosts.

• Nigeria 1-1 Tanzania (1982 World Cup Qualifier in Lagos).