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 head coach is Adel Amrouche from Algeria. They are colloquially known as the Taifa Stars. 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).
Nickname(s) | Taifa Stars | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Association | Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) | |||
Confederation | CAF (Africa) | |||
Sub-confederation | CECAFA (East & Central Africa) | |||
Head coach | Hemed Morocco (interim) | |||
Captain | Mbwana Samatta | |||
Most caps | Erasto Nyoni (107) | |||
Top scorer | Mrisho Ngasa (25) | |||
Home stadium | National Stadium | |||
FIFA code | TAN | |||
| ||||
FIFA ranking | ||||
Current | 113 ![]() | |||
Highest | 65 (February 1995) | |||
Lowest | 175 (October–November 2005) | |||
First international | ||||
![]() ![]() (Uganda; Date Unknown 1945) as Tanzania ![]() ![]() (Tanzania; 1 March 1969) | ||||
Biggest win | ||||
![]() ![]() (Jinja, Uganda; 1 December 1995) ![]() ![]() (Kampala, Uganda; 1 December 2012) | ||||
Biggest defeat | ||||
![]() ![]() (Tanganyika; Date Unknown 1956) as Tanzania ![]() ![]() (Dammam, Saudi Arabia; 11 September 1998) | ||||
Africa Cup of Nations | ||||
Appearances | 3 (first in 1980) | |||
Best result | Group stage (1980, 2019, 2023) | |||
African Nations Championship | ||||
Appearances | 2 (first in 2009) | |||
Best result | Group stage (2009, 2020) | |||
COSAFA Cup | ||||
Appearances | 3 (first in 1997) | |||
Best result | Third place (2017) | |||
CECAFA Cup | ||||
Appearances | 63 (first in 1945) | |||
Best result | Champions (1949, 1950, 1951, 1964, 1965, 1974, 1994, 2010) |
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.
Tanzania is currently ranked 121st in the FIFA World Rankings.[3]
History
editSince 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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, being the weakest team in the group, lost all three Group C matches, as predicted. 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.[citation needed]
Coaching staff
editHead coach | Hemed Morocco |
Assistant coach | Juma Mgunda |
Assistant coach | Hemed Morocco |
Assistant coach | Dr. Carolin Braun |
Goalkeeper coach | Osama Al-Hamdan |
Physical coach | Mikael Mayoyo |
Sports therapist | Joris De Vos |
Head of medical | Lisobine Kisongo |
Team manager | Reinhard |
Results and fixtures
editThe following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Loss Fixture
2023
edit7 September 2023 AFCON qualification | Algeria | 0–0 | Tanzania | Annaba, Algeria |
20:00 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: 19 May 1956 Stadium Referee: Djindo Louis Houngnandande (Benin) |
15 October Friendly | Sudan | 1–1 | Tanzania | Taif, Saudi Arabia |
19:00 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: King Fahd Sports City |
18 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | Niger | 0–1 | Tanzania | Marrakesh, Morocco |
17:00 UTC+1 | Report |
|
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech Attendance: 178 Referee: Lotfi Bekouassa (Algeria) |
21 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | Tanzania | 0–2 | Morocco | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
19:00 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Benjamin Mkapa (National Stadium) Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Abongile Tom (South Africa) |
2024
edit7 January Friendly | Egypt | 2–0 | Tanzania | Cairo, Egypt |
18:00 UTC+2 | Report | Stadium: Cairo International Stadium Referee: Hashem Al-Ibrahim (Kuwait) |
17 January 2023 AFCON GS | Morocco | 3–0 | Tanzania | San Pédro, Ivory Coast |
Stadium: Laurent Pokou Stadium |
21 January 2023 AFCON GS | Zambia | 1–1 | Tanzania | San Pédro, Ivory Coast |
Stadium: Laurent Pokou Stadium |
24 January 2023 AFCON GS | Tanzania | 0–0 | DR Congo | Korhogo, Ivory Coast |
Stadium: Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium |
22 March 2024 FIFA World Series | Tanzania | 0–1 | Bulgaria | Baku, Azerbaijan |
15:00 UTC+4 | Report | Despodov 52' | Stadium: Dalga Arena Attendance: 154 Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (Azerbaijan) |
25 March 2024 FIFA World Series | Tanzania | 3–0 | Mongolia | Baku, Azerbaijan |
17:00 UTC+4 | Report | Stadium: Dalga Arena Attendance: 146 Referee: Elçin Məsiyev (Azerbaijan) |
15 May Friendly | Sudan | 2–1 | Tanzania | Al Hawiyah, Saudi Arabia |
16:00 UTC+3 |
|
Report Report (SFA) |
|
Stadium: King Fahd Sports City (Taif) |
19 May Friendly | Sudan | 0–1 | Tanzania | Al Hawiyah, Saudi Arabia |
17:00 UTC+3 | Report |
|
Stadium: King Fahd Sports City (Taif) |
11 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | Zambia | 0–1 | Tanzania | Ndola, Zambia |
15:00 UTC+2 | Report |
|
Stadium: Levy Mwanawasa Stadium Referee: Abdel Aziz Bouh (Mauritania) |
Coaches
edit- Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
- Bert Trautmann (1975)
- Geoff Hudson (1977–1979)
- Sławomir Wolk (1979–1980)[4]
- Mahammed Msomali (1980–1981)
- Rudi Gutendorf (1981)
- Joseph Bendera (1981–1985)[5]
- Paul West (1985–1989)[6]
- Charles Boniface Mkwasa (1989–1992)
- Kayuni Sunday (1993–1995)[7]
- Clóvis de Oliveira (1995–1996)
- Badru Hafidh (1996–1998)
- Sylersaid Mziray (1998–1999)[8]
- Mansour Magram (1999–00)
- Burkhard Pape (2000–01)
- Mshindo Msolla (2001–02)
- 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)
- Mart Nooij (2014–2015)
- Charles Boniface Mkwasa (2015–2017)
- Salum Mayanga (2017–2018)
- Emmanuel Amunike (2018–2019)
- Etienne Ndayiragije (2019–2021)
- Kim Poulsen (2021–2022)
- Honour Janza (2022)
- Dean Alty (2022)
- Kim Poulsen (2022–2023)
- Adel Amrouche (2023–2024)
- Hemed Morocco (2024–)
Players
editThis article needs to be updated. The reason given is: New squad announcement [1]. (May 2024) |
Current squad
editThe following 27 players were called up for 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[9]
Caps and goals correct as of 7 January 2024, after the match against DR Congo.
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | GK | Kwesi Kawawa | 5 December 2001 | 1 | 0 | Karlslunds IF |
13 | GK | Beno David Kakolanya | 27 June 1994 | 4 | 0 | Singida Fountain Gate |
18 | GK | Aishi Manula | 13 September 1995 | 60 | 0 | Simba |
2 | DF | Haji Mnoga | 16 April 2002 | 8 | 0 | Aldershot Town |
4 | DF | Ibrahim Hamad | 12 November 1997 | 8 | 0 | Young Africans |
5 | DF | Dickson Job | 29 December 2000 | 23 | 1 | Young Africans |
14 | DF | Bakari Mwamnyeto | 5 October 1995 | 37 | 0 | Young Africans |
15 | DF | Mohamed Husseini | 1 November 1996 | 38 | 0 | Simba |
16 | DF | Lusajo Mwaikenda | 27 October 2000 | 5 | 0 | Azam |
20 | DF | Novatus Miroshi | 2 September 2002 | 18 | 2 | Shakhtar Donetsk |
24 | DF | Abdi Banda | 20 May 1995 | 20 | 0 | Chippa United |
25 | DF | Abdulmalik Zakaria | 3 March 1996 | 0 | 0 | Namungo |
26 | DF | Miano van den Bos | 31 March 2003 | 0 | 0 | Villena |
3 | MF | Mudathir Yahya | 6 May 1996 | 28 | 0 | Young Africans |
6 | MF | Feisal Salum | 11 January 1998 | 33 | 2 | Azam |
7 | MF | Himid Mao | 15 November 1992 | 70 | 2 | Ghazl El Mahalla |
8 | MF | Morice Abraham | 13 August 2003 | 3 | 0 | Spartak Subotica |
11 | MF | Tarryn Allarakhia | 17 November 1997 | 1 | 0 | Wealdstone |
17 | MF | Sospeter Bajana | 14 October 1996 | 5 | 1 | Azam |
19 | MF | Mzamiru Yassin | 3 January 1996 | 47 | 0 | Simba |
9 | FW | Cyprian Kachwele | 15 February 2005 | 0 | 0 | Whitecaps 2 |
10 | FW | Mbwana Samatta (captain) | 23 December 1992 | 76 | 22 | PAOK |
12 | FW | Simon Msuva | 2 October 1993 | 89 | 22 | JS Kabylie |
21 | FW | Charles M'Mombwa | 14 March 1998 | 3 | 1 | unattached |
22 | FW | Kibu Denis | 4 December 1998 | 17 | 0 | Simba |
23 | FW | Ben Starkie | 23 July 2002 | 3 | 0 | Basford United |
27 | FW | Mohammed Sagaf | 12 November 1997 | 1 | 0 | Boreham Wood |
Recent call-ups
editThe 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 | Metacha Mnata | 25 November 1998 | 9 | 0 | Young Africans | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE |
DF | Kennedy Juma | 7 August 1994 | 10 | 0 | Simba | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE |
DF | Lameck Elias Lawi | 28 November 2000 | 0 | 0 | Coastal Union | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE |
MF | Ayoub Idrissa Bilali | 27 July 2001 | 1 | 0 | Goražde | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE |
MF | Adolf Bitegeko | 26 February 1999 | 0 | 0 | Völsungur | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE |
MF | Yusuph Kagoma | 1 February 1996 | 0 | 0 | Geita Gold | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE |
FW | Abdul Hamisi Suleiman | 26 February 2001 | 7 | 0 | Azam | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE |
FW | Said Khamis | 20 July 2000 | 5 | 1 | Jedinstvo Ub | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE |
FW | Raphael Bocco | 5 August 1989 | 84 | 16 | Simba | v. Algeria, 7 September 2023 |
DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up. |
Player records
edit- As of 11 June 2024[10]
- Players in bold are still active with Tanzania.
Most appearances
editRank | Name | Caps | Goals | Career |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Erasto Nyoni | 107 | 7 | 2006–2021 |
2 | Mrisho Ngassa | 100 | 25 | 2006–2015 |
3 | Kelvin Yondani | 97 | 0 | 2008–2021 |
4 | Simon Msuva | 92 | 22 | 2012–present |
5 | Raphael Bocco | 84 | 16 | 2009–present |
6 | Shomari Kapombe | 82 | 1 | 2011–present |
7 | Juma Kaseja | 79 | 0 | 2002–2021 |
8 | Mbwana Samatta | 79 | 22 | 2011–present |
9 | Himid Mao | 77 | 2 | 2013–present |
10 | Aishi Manula | 64 | 0 | 2015–present |
Top goalscorers
editRank | Name | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mrisho Ngassa | 25 | 100 | 0.25 | 2006–2015 |
2 | Mbwana Samatta | 22 | 79 | 0.28 | 2011–present |
Simon Msuva | 22 | 92 | 0.24 | 2012–present | |
4 | Raphael Bocco | 16 | 84 | 0.19 | 2009–present |
5 | John Nteze Lungu | 12 | 22 | 0.55 | 1992–2002 |
6 | Jerson Tegete | 8 | 28 | 0.29 | 2006–2011 |
Danny Mrwanda | 8 | 34 | 0.24 | 2005–2011 | |
8 | Mohamed Rajab | 7 | 20 | 0.35 | 2002–2011 |
Thomas Ulimwengu | 7 | 51 | 0.14 | 2010–2021 | |
Erasto Nyoni | 7 | 107 | 0.07 | 2006–2021 |
Competitive record
editFIFA World Cup
editFIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
1930 to 1962 | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | |||||||||||||
1966 and 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 | 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 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 10 | |||||||||
2026 | To be determined | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
2030 | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
2034 | |||||||||||||||
Total | 0/15 | 44 | 13 | 12 | 19 | 45 | 62 |
Africa Cup of Nations
editAfrica Cup of Nations record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Appearances: 3 | Appearances: 24 | ||||||||||||||
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
as Tanganyika | as Tanganyika | ||||||||||||||
1957 | Not affiliated to CAF | Not affiliated to CAF | |||||||||||||
1959 | |||||||||||||||
1962 | |||||||||||||||
1963 | |||||||||||||||
as Tanzania | as Tanzania | ||||||||||||||
1965 | Not affiliated to CAF | Not affiliated to CAF | |||||||||||||
1968 | Withdrew during qualifying | Withdrew during qualifying | |||||||||||||
1970 | Did not qualify | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | ||||||||
1972 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||
1974 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | |||||||||
1976 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |||||||||
1978 | Withdrew during qualifying | Withdrew during qualifying | |||||||||||||
1980 | Group stage | 7th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | |
1982 | Withdrew | Withdrew | |||||||||||||
1984 | Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||
1986 | Withdrew during qualifying | Withdrew during qualifying | |||||||||||||
1988 | Did not qualify | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||||||||
1990 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
1992 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | |||||||||
1994 | Withdrew during qualifying | Withdrew during qualifying | |||||||||||||
1996 | Did not qualify | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 15 | ||||||||
1998 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | |||||||||
2000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||
2002 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||
2004 | Withdrew during qualifying | Withdrew during qualifying | |||||||||||||
2006 | Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||
2008 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | |||||||||
2010 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 6 | |||||||||
2012 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | |||||||||
2013 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
2015 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | |||||||||
2017 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | |||||||||
2019 | Group stage | 24th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | |
2021 | Did not qualify | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||
2023 | Group stage | 22nd | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
2025 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||
2027 | Qualified as co-hosts | Qualified as co-hosts | |||||||||||||
2029 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||
Total | Group stage | 4/36 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 93 | 22 | 31 | 40 | 95 | 130 |
African Nations Championship
editAfrican Nations Championship record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Appearances: 2 | Appearances: 7 | ||||||||||||||
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
2009 | Group stage | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | |
2011 | Did not qualify | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | ||||||||
2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||
2016 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||
2018 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
2020 | Group stage | 10th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
2022 | Did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||||||||
2024 | Qualified as hosts | Qualified as hosts | |||||||||||||
Total | Group stage | 2/7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 25 | 22 |
African Games
editAfrican Games record | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
1973 | 7th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | |
Total | 1/4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
Gossage Cup / CECAFA Cup
editHonours
editReferences
edit- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 18 July 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 15 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "FIFA". fifa.com. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ "Brother Danny: Taifa Stars Ilivyofuzu Kwenda Lagos 1980". brotherdanny5b.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "International Matches 1987 - Africa". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ "International Matches 1992 - Africa". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ "International Matches 1993 - Africa". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ "International Matches 1998 - Africa". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ "Final Squad". Twitter. TFF Tanzania.
- ^ "Tanzania". National Football Teams.