Tanzania : Aiming To Impress Africa

The Taifa Stars of Tanzania are drawn in Group F of the 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to be staged from January 13 to February 11, 2024 in Côte d’Ivoire. They are placed alongside Morocco, DR Congo and Zambia. Morocco represent the biggest threat in Group F as semi-finalists at last year's World Cup, with DR Congo and Zambia also boasting greater AFCON pedigree.
Tanzania is just at its third AFCON. Outside the first 1980 edition debut, Tanzania had to wait for 39 years before qualifying for another AFCON (2019). The national team's records in the tournament is also not impressive. In all two editions they were booted out at the group stage and if one goes by this statistics, the team is the least placed as far as the other Group F opponents are concerned. Now they have gained a third chance to shine on the continental stage. The Taifa stars qualified for the 2023 AFCON as second in Group F, with eight points behind Algeria with 16 points. The 0-0 draw against African powerhouse, Algeria on the match day 6 of the AFCON qualifiers sealed the spot for the Tanzanians.
Despite being pitted against teams with far greater AFCON pedigree, Tanzania's squad remains upbeat about causing an upset. True, their journey will not be a walk in the park. However, football has always been unpredictable. Tanzania, under the right guidance and with the right spirit, might just pull off the unexpected. In a post on...