Tanzania national football team

Tanzania
Nickname(s)	Taifa Stars
Association	Tanzania Football Federation
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	CECAFA (East & Central Africa)
Head coach	Etienne Ndayiragije
Captain	Mbwana Samatta
Most caps	Mrisho Ngasa (100)
Top scorer	Mrisho Ngasa (25)
Home stadium	National Stadium
FIFA code	TAN
FIFA ranking
Current	119 (4 April 2024)
Highest	65 (February 1995)
Lowest	175 (October–November 2005)
First international
	Uganda 7–0 Tanganyika ; (Uganda; 1945)
Biggest win
	Tanzania 7–0 Somalia ; (Jinja, Uganda; December 1, 1995) ; Tanzania 7–0 Somalia ; (Kampala, Uganda; December 1, 2012)
Biggest defeat
	Tanganyika 0–9 Kenya ; (Tanganyika; 1956)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	2 (first in 1980)
Best result	Group stage (1980 and 2019)

The Tanzania national football team (Swahili: Timu ya Taifa ya Mpira wa Miguu ya Tanzania) represents Tanzania in men's international football and is controlled by the Tanzania Football Federation, the governing body for football in Tanzania, Tanzania's home ground is Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Dar-es-Salaam and their interim head coach is Etienne Ndayiragije from Burundi. Tanzania has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. Before uniting with Zanzibar, the team played as the Tanganyika national football team, The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The island of Zanzibar, part of Tanzania (and once an independent nation), is also an associate member of CAF and has played matches with other nations, but is not eligible to enter the World Cup or Africa Cup of Nations. See Zanzibar national football team.

History

Since qualifying for the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations, Tanzania endured nearly 40 years without major success, struggling in both African and World Cup qualifiers. Their best effort was in 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, where the Taifa Stars defeated Burkina Faso twice and only finished three points behind group winners Senegal. In 2010 Tanzania won the CECAFA Cup for the third time.

A recent achievement was a 1–0 win against South Africa in the 2017 COSAFA Cup Quarter-finals. But afterwards, Tanzania lost the Semi-finals 2–4 to Zambia. Then, in the Third-place playoff, Tanzania managed to win the match against Lesotho 4–2 in a penalty shootout after the extra time ended in a goalless draw. This Third place was considered Tanzania's biggest football achievement in many years.

On 24 March 2019, Tanzania beat East African rivals Uganda 3–0 to reach the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 39 years. At the Finals the Taifa Stars lost all three Group C matches. A few months later, Tanzania qualified for the African Nations Championship for only the second time, as well as defeating Burundi in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Honours

CECAFA Cup :

3 Times Champion (1974, 1994, 2010)
5 Times Runners-up (1973, 1980, 1981, 1992, 2002)

Competitive record

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record									FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1970	Did not enter								Did not enter
1974	Did not qualify								3	0	2	1	1	4
1978	Withdrew								Withdrew
1982	Did not qualify								4	1	1	2	7	6
1986	Did not qualify								2	0	2	0	1	1
1990	Did not enter								Did not enter
1994	Withdrew during qualifying								Withdrew during qualifying
1998	Did not qualify								2	0	1	1	1	2
2002									2	0	0	2	2	4
2006									2	0	1	1	0	3
2010									6	2	2	2	9	6
2014									8	3	0	5	10	14
2018									4	1	1	2	4	10
2022	To be determined								To be determined
2026	To be determined								To be determined
Total		0/21							33	7	10	16	35	50

Africa Cup of Nations record

Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances: 2
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1957	Not affiliated to CAF
1959
1962
1963
1965
1968	Withdrew during qualifying
1970	Did not qualify
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980	Group stage	7th	3	0	1	2	3	6
1982	Withdrew
1984	Did not qualify
1986	Withdrew during qualifying
1988	Did not qualify
1990
1992
1994	Withdrew during qualifying
1996	Did not qualify
1998
2000
2002
2004	Withdrew during qualifying
2006	Did not qualify
2008
2010
2012
2013
2015
2017
2019	Group stage	24th	3	0	0	3	2	8
2021	To be determined
2023
2025
Total	Group stage	2/32	6	0	1	5	5	14

African Nations Championship record

African Nations Championship
Appearances: 1
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2009	Group stage	5th	3	1	1	1	2	2
2011	Did not qualify
2014
2016
2018
2020	To be determined
2022	To be determined
Total	Group stage	2/6	3	1	1	1	2	2

African Games

Football at the African Games has been an under-23 tournament since 1991.

African Games Record
Year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1965	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1973	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1978	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1987	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1991–present	See Tanzania national under-23 football team
Total	4/4	0	0	0	0	0	0

Gossage Cup / CECAFA Cup

Gossage Cup Record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA
1947	Fourth Place	4th	1	0	0	1	1	3
1948	Third Place	3rd	1	0	0	1	1	3
1949	Fourth Place	4th	1	0	0	1	2	3
1950	Fourth Place	4th	1	0	0	1	0	4
1951	Third Place	3rd	1	0	0	1	0	1
1952	Third Place	3rd	2	1	0	1	4	8
1953	Third Place	3rd	1	0	0	1	1	5
1954	Fourth Place	4th	1	0	0	1	0	5
1955	Third Place	3rd	1	0	0	1	-	-
1956	Third Place	3rd	2	1	0	1	5	7
1957	Third Place	3rd	2	0	1	1	4	8
1958	Fourth Place	4th	3	0	1	2	3	8
1959	Runners-Up	2nd	3	1	1	1	3	7
1960	Fourth Place	4th	3	0	0	3	3	11
1961	Fourth Place	4th	3	0	0	3	1	15
1962	Fourth Place	4th	3	0	0	3	0	19
1963	Fourth Place	4th	3	0	0	3	1	5
1964	Fourth Place	4th	3	1	0	2	5	10
1965	Fourth Place	4th	3	0	0	3	2	12
1966	Fourth Place	4th	3	0	1	2	1	7
Total	20/37	0 Titles	41	4	4	33	37	141

East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup Record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA
1967	Third Place	3rd	3	1	0	2	3	8
1968	Fourth Place	4th	3	0	0	3	0	8
1969	Fourth Place	4th	3	0	0	3	1	12
1970	Third Place	3rd	3	1	0	2	4	5
1971	Fourth Place	4th	3	0	1	2	2	8
Total	5/5	0 Titles	15	2	1	12	10	41

CECAFA Cup Record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA
1973	Group Stage	5th	2	0	0	2	0	6
1974	Third Place	3rd	2	1	0	1	3	3
1975	Group Stage	6th	2	0	0	2	1	7
1976	Group Stage	6th	3	1	0	2	1	4
1977	Group Stage	6th	3	1	0	2	1	4
1978	Did not enter
1979	Fourth Place	4th	4	0	2	2	3	8
1980	Group Stage	5th	3	1	0	2	2	5
1981	Group Stage	8th	3	0	0	3	3	9
1982	Fourth Place	4th	4	1	1	2	3	8
1983	Group Stage	8th	3	0	1	2	3	6
1984	Group Stage	8th	3	0	0	3	1	4
1985	Did not enter
1987	Fourth Place	4th	5	1	2	2	2	3
1988	Group Stage	7th	3	1	0	2	1	3
1989	Group Stage	6th	3	0	2	1	0	1
1990	Fourth Place	4th	5	1	1	3	3	5
1991	Group Stage	7th	3	0	0	3	4	7
1992	Group Stage	8th	4	1	0	3	2	14
1994	Did not enter
1995	Champions	1st	5	3	1	1	5	4
1996	Group Stage	5th	3	1	1	1	3	3
1999	Group Stage	10th	2	0	1	1	1	3
2000	Did not enter
2001	Group Stage	10th	2	0	0	2	0	8
2002	Group Stage	7th	4	1	1	2	1	3
2003	Group Stage	5th	2	0	1	1	2	6
2004	Group Stage	7th	4	1	0	3	7	11
2005	Third Place	3rd	6	3	2	1	7	6
2006	Group Stage	9th	2	0	1	1	0	4
2007	Quarter-Finals	7th	3	1	2	0	5	3
2008	Group Stage	8th	4	1	1	2	3	5
2009	Third Place	3rd	6	2	2	2	6	3
2010	Quarter-Finals	7th	4	1	2	1	4	3
2011	Quarter-Finals	7th	4	1	1	2	5	4
2012	Third Place	3rd	6	1	4	1	5	6
2013	Group Stage	9th	3	1	0	2	3	6
2015	Group Stage	10th	3	1	0	2	3	6
2017	Runners-Up	2nd	6	3	2	1	9	6
Total	34/38	1 Title	121	29	31	61	99	181

Recent results and fixtures

Win Draw Loss

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2019

23 June 2019 2019 AFCON	Senegal	2–0	Tanzania	Cairo, Egypt
19:00 CAT	Keita 28' Diatta 64'	Report		Stadium: 30 June Stadium Attendance: 7,249 Referee: Sadok Selmi (Tunisia)

27 June 2019 2019 AFCON	Kenya	3–2	Tanzania	Cairo, Egypt
22:00 CAT	Olunga 39', 80' Omolo 62'	Report	Msuva 6' Samatta 40'	Stadium: 30 June Stadium Referee: Ahmad Heeralall (Mauritius)

1 July 2019 2019 AFCON	Tanzania	0–3	Algeria	Cairo, Egypt
21:00 CAT		Report	Slimani 34' Ounas 39', 45+1'	Stadium: 30 June Stadium Referee: Andofetra Rakotojaona (Madagascar)

4 September 2019 (2019-09-04) 2022 WCQ	Burundi	1–1	Tanzania	Bujumbura, Burundi
15:00 UTC+2	Amissi 81'	Report (FIFA)	Msuva 85'	Stadium: Prince Louis Rwagasore Stadium Referee: Kokou Ntalé (Togo)

8 September 2019 (2019-09-08) 2022 WCQ	Tanzania	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–0 p)	Burundi	Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
16:00 UTC+3	Samatta 29'	Report (FIFA)	Abdul Razak 45+2'	Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Norman Matemera (Zimbabwe)
	Penalties
	Nyoni Mao Kamagi		Ngandu Berahino Bigirimana

14 October 2019 Friendly	Rwanda	0–0	Tanzania	Kigali, Rwanda
19:00		Report		Stadium: Stade Régional Nyamirambo Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Davies Omweno (Kenya)

15 November 2019 2021 AFCONQ	Tanzania	2–1	Equatorial Guinea	Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
19:00 UTC+3	Msuva 69' Abubakar 90+2'		Obiang 15'	Stadium: National Stadium

19 November 2019 2021 AFCONQ	Libya	2–1	Tanzania	Monastir, Tunisia
20:00 UTC+1	Al Warfali 68' (pen.) Saltou 81'		Samatta 18' (pen.)	Stadium: Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were selected for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification against Equatorial Guinea and Libya.^[3]

Caps and goals updated as of 19 November 2019 after the game against Libya.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Juma Kaseja	(1985-04-20) 20 April 1985 (age 39)	62	0	KMC
13	1GK	Metacha Mnata	(1998-11-25) 25 November 1998 (age 25)	3	0	Young Africans
18	1GK	David Kisu	(1997-08-05) 5 August 1997 (age 26)	0	0	Gor Mahia FC

4	2DF	Erasto Nyoni	(1988-05-07) 7 May 1988 (age 36)	88	5	Simba
5	2DF	Kelvin Yondan	(1984-10-09) 9 October 1984 (age 39)	82	0	Young African
2	2DF	Gadiel Kamagi	(1996-09-12) 12 September 1996 (age 27)	24	0	Simba
15	2DF	Mohamed Husseini	(1995-01-11) 11 January 1995 (age 29)	12	0	Simba
3	2DF	Bakari Mwamnyeto	(1995-10-05) 5 October 1995 (age 28)	9	0	Coastal Union F.C.
22	2DF	Hassan Kessy	(1994-12-25) 25 December 1994 (age 29)	8	0	Nkana
23	2DF	Iddy Nado	(1995-11-03) 3 November 1995 (age 28)	5	0	Azam

8	3MF	Salum Abubakar	(1989-02-21) 21 February 1989 (age 35)	36	0	Azam
21	3MF	Mzamiru Yassini	(1996-03-01) 1 March 1996 (age 28)	25	0	Simba
17	3MF	Faridi Mussa	(1995-06-21) 21 June 1995 (age 28)	21	0	Tenerife B
20	3MF	Jonas Mkude	(1991-12-03) 3 December 1991 (age 32)	20	0	Simba
21	3MF	Abdulaziz Makame	(1996-04-24) 24 April 1996 (age 28)	10	2	Young Africans
19	3MF	Eleuter Mpepo	(2000-03-03) 3 March 2000 (age 24)	5	0	Buildcon
21	3MF	Salum Kimenya	(1992-06-11) 11 June 1992 (age 31)	3	0	Prisons F.C.

12	4FW	Simon Msuva	(1993-10-02) 2 October 1993 (age 30)	55	11	Difaâ El Jadidi
10	4FW	Mbwana Samatta	(1992-01-07) 7 January 1992 (age 32)	50	17	Aston Villa
9	4FW	Ditram Nchimbi	(1993-03-10) 10 March 1993 (age 31)	9	2	Polisi Dodoma
9	4FW	Ayoub Lyanga	(1994-07-28) 28 July 1994 (age 29)	8	1	Coastal Union F.C.
11	4FW	Hassan Dilunga	(1993-10-19) 19 October 1993 (age 30)	8	0	Simba
9	4FW	Miraji Athuman	(1993-10-29) 29 October 1993 (age 30)	5	0	Simba S.C.
	4FW	Shabani Chilunda	(1998-07-20) 20 July 1998 (age 25)	2	0	Azam F.C.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Tanzania in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Beno Kakolanya		0	0	Simba	v. Burundi, 4 September 2019
GK	Aishi Manula	(1995-09-13) 13 September 1995 (age 28)	30	0	Simba	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
GK	Aron Kalambo	(1995-01-07) 7 January 1995 (age 29)	0	0	Tanzania Prisons	2019 Africa Cup of Nations

DF	Haruna Shamte	(1988-12-27) 27 December 1988 (age 35)	3	0	Lipuli	v. Burundi, 4 September 2019
DF	Iddy Moby		0	0	Polisi Tanzania	v. Burundi, 4 September 2019
DF	David Mwantika	(1988-12-21) 21 December 1988 (age 35)	4	0	Azam	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Ally Mtoni	(1993-03-13) 13 March 1993 (age 31)	2	0	Lipuli	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Vicent Philipo	(1996-08-06) 6 August 1996 (age 27)	0	0	Mbao	2019 Africa Cup of Nations

MF	Himid Mao Mkami	(1992-11-15) 15 November 1992 (age 31)	51	2	ENPPI	v. Burundi, 4 September 2019
MF	Mohamed Issa		0	0	Young Africans	v. Burundi, 4 September 2019
MF	Frank Domayo	(1993-02-16) 16 February 1993 (age 31)	39	0	Azam	v. Burundi, 4 September 2019
MF	Ally Hamis Ng'anzi	(2000-09-03) 3 September 2000 (age 23)	0	0	Loudoun United	v. Burundi, 4 September 2019
MF	Mudathir Yahya	(1995-05-06) 6 May 1995 (age 29)	15	0	Azam	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Yahya Zayd	(1998-09-29) 29 September 1998 (age 25)	5	0	Ismaily	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
MF	Feisal Salum	(1998-01-11) 11 January 1998 (age 26)	4	0	Young Africans	2019 Africa Cup of Nations

FW	Adi Yussuf	(1992-10-03) 3 October 1992 (age 31)	0	0	Boreham Wood	v. Burundi, 4 September 2019
FW	John Bocco	(1989-08-05) 5 August 1989 (age 34)	70	16	Simba	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
FW	Thomas Ulimwengu	(1993-06-14) 14 June 1993 (age 30)	46	7	JS Saoura	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
FW	Rashid Mandawa	(1994-05-05) 5 May 1994 (age 30)	6	0	BDF XI	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
^DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up. ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. ^PRE Preliminary squad. ^RET Player has retired from international football. ^SUS Suspended from the national team.

Coaches

Bert Trautmann (1975)
Geoff Hudson (1977–1979)
Slawomir Wolk (1979–1980)^[4]
Mahammed Msomali (1980–1981)
Rudi Gutendorf (1981)
Joseph Bendera^[5] (1987)
Paul West (1992)^[6]
Sunday Kayuni (1993)^[7]
Clóvis de Oliveira (1995–1997)
Badru Hafidh (1998)
Sylersaid Mziray (1998)^[8]
Burkhard Pape (2000–02)
James Siang'a (2002)
Mshindo Msolla (2002–03)
Badru Hafidh (2003–06)
Júlio César Leal (2006)
Márcio Máximo (2006–10)
Jan Poulsen (2010–12)
Kim Poulsen (2012–14)
Salum Madadi (2014, caretaker)
Mart Nooij (2014–2015)
Charles Boniface Mkwasa (2015–2017)
Salum Mayanga (2017–2018)
Emmanuel Amunike (2018–2019)
Etienne Ndayiragije (2019-)

References

^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
^ Iranzi, Fabrice (3 September 2019). "2022 World Cup Qualifiers: Tanzania Taifa Stars took a flight to Burundi". RegionWeek.
^ [1]
^ "International Matches 1987 - Africa". www.rsssf.com.
^ "International Matches 1992 - Africa". www.rsssf.com.
^ "International Matches 1993 - Africa". www.rsssf.com.
^ "International Matches 1998 - Africa". www.rsssf.com.

External links

Tanzania at FIFA.com

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-2] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.

[3] Iranzi, Fabrice (3 September 2019). "2022 World Cup Qualifiers: Tanzania Taifa Stars took a flight to Burundi". RegionWeek.

[4] [1]

[5] "International Matches 1987 - Africa". www.rsssf.com.

[6] "International Matches 1992 - Africa". www.rsssf.com.

[7] "International Matches 1993 - Africa". www.rsssf.com.

[8] "International Matches 1998 - Africa". www.rsssf.com.

[1]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

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