Tanzania reach AFCON knockout stages for first time despite CAF announcing their ‘exit’ – The Athletic
Tanzania have qualified for the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since their first participation 45 years ago.
Tanzania finished third in Group C behind Nigeria and Tunisia. They lost their opening game to Nigeria but drew with Uganda and Tunisia. Despite failing to win a game and only earning two points, they will face the host nation Morocco in the round of 16 after qualifying as one of the four best third-placed sides.
Tanzania finished on the same amount of points as Angola, third-placed in Group B, with equivalent goal difference, but had scored one more goal.
A Taifa Stars moment with the fans. 🇹🇿💙#TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 | #WeCelebrateDifferent pic.twitter.com/J9cPRMWT9g
— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 30, 2025
It was not immediately clear if they would progress after they drew 1-1 with Tunisia, however, with the African football federation’s (CAF) live blog saying they had exited the tournament.
CAF’s report however, carried celebratory quotes from the national team coach, and said their hopes were “still alive”. Later in the evening they confirmed their progress in a social media post.
“I didn’t have enough time to prepare the team, but we worked together with the management and federation and feel very proud,” Miguel Gamondi said. “Not just for myself but for the country.
“I wanted to change this mentality of underdogs. To qualify is a great learning for Tanzania who must be proud. I hope this will be a reminder to these players and the next generation of players on the potential of Tanzanian football.”
Feisal Salum will go down as a hero with the country’s supporters after his 48th minute strike helped them to recover from a 1-0 deficit against Tunisia.
This is a huge moment for Tanzania who are only making their fourth appearance at the competition. They will be co-hosting the next edition in 2027 alongside Kenya and Uganda, bringing the tournament to east Africa for the first time since it was staged in Ethiopia in 1976.
Tanzania face Morocco in Rabat on Sunday evening.
