Who: Nigeria vs Tanzania
What: CAF Africa Cup of Nations
Where?: Fez Stadium, Fez, Morocco
When?: Tuesday, December 23, 6:30 pm (17:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 14:30 GMT before our text commentary stream.
There were hopes that Nigeria’s much-vaunted golden generation would take the country to new heights, but another disappointment in World Cup qualification has left the Super Eagles looking for answers.
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After missing out on the trip to North America in 2026, Nigeria arrive in Morocco in search of redemption and continental glory.
The three-time champions begin their AFCON 2025 campaign against Group C opponents Tanzania, who have appeared only three times in the tournament.
With world-class talent in Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, Nigeria is one of the favourites to top the group, which also includes Tunisia and Uganda.
Tuesday’s face-off in Fez pits Nigeria and Tanzania together in the continental championship for only the second time, 45 years after their first meeting in the competition.
Here’s everything you need to know about the match:
Why did Nigeria fail to qualify for the 2026 World Cup?
Nigeria was one of the best runners-up in the nine African qualifying groups, reaching the playoffs, but lost 4–3 on penalties to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and failed to reach the inter-confederation playoffs.
The Super Eagles, who have featured in six World Cups, have now failed to qualify for the global showpiece event for the second consecutive time.
A poor start to their qualifying campaign, along with managerial changes and pay disputes, contributed to their disappointment in failing to qualify for the World Cup.
What happened after the loss to DCR?
Last week, Nigeria filed a petition to FIFA alleging that the DRC had fielded ineligible players in that decisive playoff match.
The Nigerian Football Federation said that several dual-nationality players were cleared to play for the DRC without meeting the required criteria, but the DRC federation rejected the allegations.
Coaching turnover for Tanzania
Tanzania also has many controversies.
The Tanzanian Football Federation has fired its coach, Hemed Suleiman, just a month before AFCON 2025, replacing him with Miguel Gamondi, who will take interim charge of Taifa Stars for the competition.
Former coach Suleiman led Tanzania to their fourth Nations Cup appearance and the quarter-finals of the African Nations Championship this year. But they failed to secure a place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Who are Nigeria’s key players to watch?
Nigeria’s squad is loaded with talent in all departments, with forwards and former CAF Player of the Year award winners Osimhen and Lookman leading the group.
Defender Kelvin Bassey, midfielders Alex Iwobi and Wilfried Ndidi, along with striker Samuel Chukwueze, are the other high-profile players.
Who are the major players of Tanzania?
Mbwana Samatta, who plays for Ligue 1 club Le Havre, and fellow experienced forward Simon Masuwa lead the Tanzanian team.
Masuwa has returned after missing the October and November windows and remains the most capped member of the team. An appearance on Tuesday would mark his 100th international cap.
Tanzania’s backline is dominated by defender Mohammed Hussein, while youngster Haji Monoga, who plays for Salford City in the English fourth tier, is also a part of the squad.
form guide
All matches, latest final results:
Nigeria: LLWWW
Tanzania: LLLD
head-to-head
Nigeria and Tanzania have faced each other seven times in all competitions, including the FIFA World Cup.
Nigeria has won four of these matches, while three ended in a draw.
In their most recent encounter, Nigeria prevailed 1-0 at the 2016 AFCON.
AFCON record
Nigeria has played in the AFCON 20 times, being winners three times – most recently winning the trophy in 2013 – and finishing runners-up five times. Remarkably, they have finished in the top three in 13 of their last 15 AFCON appearances.
Tanzania has never advanced beyond the group stage in its three AFCON appearances.
They are one of only four teams in this year’s edition to have never won an AFCON match, with six losses and three draws in their total of nine AFCON matches.
AFCON 2025 is a historic tournament for Tanzania, as they have qualified for consecutive finals for the first time.
Nigerian team news
Nigeria will be without injured centre-back Benjamin Fredericks and full-back Ola Aina.
William Troost-Ekong, the regular captain, has been unavailable since recently announcing his retirement from international football, with Ndidi now taking over the captaincy.
Strikers Victor Boniface and Tolu Arokodare were surprisingly left out of the squad.
Nigeria’s projected lineup
Nigeria’s projected lineup includes Nawabili as the goalkeeper, with Ossai-Samuel, Ajayi, Bassey, and Sanusi in the defence; Chukwueze, Ndidi, Iwobi, and Lookman in the midfield; and Osimhen and Adams as the forwards.
tanzania team news
New coach Gamondi left out experienced midfielder Mudathir Yahya from the squad, but other than that there are no other absentees.
Tanzania’s projected lineup
Suleiman (goalkeeper); Kapombe, Hamad, Husseini, Masindo; Miroshi, Salum, Job; masuva, mazeez, samata
