Who: Nigeria vs Tanzania
What: CAF Africa Cup of Nations
Where: Fez Stadium in Fez, Morocco
When: Tuesday, December 23, at 6:30pm (17:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 14:30 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.
Nigeria’s much-celebrated golden generation was expected to propel the nation to new heights, but another World Cup qualification disappointment has left the Super Eagles searching for answers.
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After the heartbreak of missing out on a trip to North America in 2026, Nigeria arrive in Morocco in search of redemption and continental glory. The three-time champions open their AFCON 2025 campaign against Group C opponents Tanzania, who have appeared at the tournament just three times.
Boasting world-class talent in Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, Nigeria are among the favourites to top the group that also features Tunisia and Uganda.
Tuesday’s face-off in Fez pits together Nigeria and Tanzania for only the second time at the continental championships, 45 years after their first meeting at the competition.
Here’s all you need to know about the match:
Why did Nigeria fail to qualify for the 2026 World Cup?
Nigeria were among the best runners-up across the nine African qualifying groups who advanced to the playoffs, but lost 4-3 on penalties to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), failing to reach the inter-confederation playoffs.
The Super Eagles, who have made six World Cup appearances, have now failed to qualify for the global showpiece event for the second time in a row.
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A poor start to their qualifying campaign, managerial changes and a pay dispute were among the factors that led to their World Cup disappointment.
What happened after the loss to DCR?
Last week, Nigeria submitted a petition to FIFA alleging DRC fielded ineligible players in that decisive playoff match.
The Nigerian football federation said several dual-nationality players had been cleared to play for DRC without meeting the required criteria, but DRC’s federation rejected the allegations.
Coaching turnover for Tanzania
There is no dearth of controversy in Tanzania, too.
Tanzania’s football federation fired its coach, Hemed Suleiman, just a month before AFCON 2025, replacing him with Miguel Gamondi, who will take interim charge of the Taifa Stars for the competition.
Former coach Suleiman led Tanzania to their fourth Cup of Nations appearance and reached the quarterfinals of the African Nations Championships this year. But they failed to secure a spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Who are Nigeria’s key players to watch?
Nigeria’s squad is packed with talent in all departments, with forwards and former CAF Player of the Year award winners Osimhen and Lookman headlining the group.
Defender Calvin Bassey, midfielders Alex Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi, along with striker Samuel Chukwueze, are the other high-profile players.
Who are Tanzania’s key players?
Mbwana Samatta, who plays for Ligue 1 club Le Havre, and fellow experienced forward Simon Msuva headline Tanzania’s squad.
Msuva returns after missing the October and November windows and remains the most capped member of the squad. An appearance on Tuesday will mark his 100th international cap.
Defender Mohamed Hussein is a formidable presence in Tanzania’s backline, while youngster Haji Mnoga, who plays for Salford City in the English fourth tier, is also part of the squad.
Form guide
All matches, most recent result last:
Nigeria: L-L-W-W-W
Tanzania: L-L-L-L-D
Nigeria and Tanzania have met seven times across all competitions, including at the FIFA World Cup.
Nigeria have won four of those matches, while three ended in a draw.
Their last meeting was in 2016 at AFCON, where Nigeria won 1-0.
AFCON records
Nigeria have played at AFCON 20 times, finishing winners on three occasions – most recently lifting the trophy in 2013 – and runners-up five times. Remarkably, they have finished in the top three in 13 of their last 15 AFCON appearances.
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Tanzania have never made it past the group stage in their three AFCON appearances. They are also one of only four teams at this year’s edition that have never won an AFCON match, with six defeats and three draws in their nine AFCON matches overall.
The AFCON 2025 is a landmark tournament for Tanzania, as they have qualified for successive finals for the first time.
Nigeria team news
Nigeria will be without centre-back Benjamin Fredrick and full-back Ola Aina, who are both injured.
William Troost-Ekong, the regular captain, is unavailable after recently announcing his retirement from international football, with Ndidi now taking over the captaincy.
Strikers Victor Boniface and Tolu Arokodare were the surprise omissions from the squad.
Nigeria’s predicted lineup
Nwabili (Goalkeeper); Osayi-Samuel, Ajayi, Bassey, Sanusi; Chukwueze, Ndidi, Iwobi, Lookman; Osimhen, Adams
Tanzania team news
New coach Gamondi dropped experienced midfielder Mudathir Yahya from the squad, but apart from that, there are no absentees.
Tanzania’s predicted lineup
Suleiman (Goalkeeper); Kapombe, Hamad, Husseini, Msindo; Miroshi, Salum, Job; Msuva, Mzize, Samatta