Tanzania head coach Miguel Gamondi believes his side can finally secure their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations victory when they face Nigeria in their Group C opener at the 2025 AFCON in Morocco on Tuesday.
The Taifa Stars have appeared at three previous AFCON tournaments — 1980, 2019 and 2023 — but are yet to record a win, drawing three matches and losing six. Their clash with the Super Eagles at the Complexe Sportif de Fès will mark Tanzania’s 10th game at the continental showpiece.
It will also be only the second AFCON meeting between both teams, 45 years after their first encounter at the 1980 tournament in Nigeria, where the Super Eagles claimed a 3–1 victory in the opening match. More recently, the sides met during the 2017 AFCON qualifiers, drawing goalless in Dar es Salaam before Nigeria edged a 1–0 win in Uyo in September 2016.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Gamondi admitted Nigeria’s superiority on paper but insisted his players still believe a breakthrough is possible.
“It’s our dream, and nobody can stop us from believing and dreaming,” the Argentine said. “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.”
He added that while Nigeria may be overwhelming favourites, his team are not intimidated. “I’m very realistic about the possibilities. Maybe Nigeria have 99 per cent, but you never know. 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 their opener against Nigeria, Tanzania will face Uganda on Friday before concluding their Group C campaign against Tunisia next Tuesday.
Tanzania made their AFCON debut in 1980, losing all three group matches to Nigeria, Egypt and Ivory Coast. They returned in 2019 under former Super Eagles winger Emmanuel Amuneke after a 39-year absence but again exited without a win. At the 2023 edition in Ivory Coast, the Taifa Stars showed improvement, drawing with Zambia and DR Congo after an opening defeat to Morocco.
