Hosts Morocco will be looking to maintain their dominance over Tanzania when the two sides clash in a high-stakes Round of 16 encounter at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025. The match will be played on 4 January at the Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah, with kick-off scheduled for 17h00 local time (16h00 GMT).
This will be the second AFCON meeting between the two nations, following their group-stage encounter at the 2023 tournament, where Morocco cruised to a 3-0 victory on their way to topping the group. Tanzania, on the other hand, finished bottom in that edition.
Tanzania are facing a host nation for just the second time in AFCON history. Their first such encounter came in 1980, when they lost 3-1 to Nigeria in Lagos in their opening match of the tournament.
Overall, Morocco have enjoyed overwhelming success in this fixture. The Atlas Lions have won seven of the eight meetings between the sides across all competitions, including the last five in a row. Tanzania’s only victory came in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier, a memorable 3-1 home win in Dar es Salaam on 24 March 2013, inspired by goals from Thomas Ulimwengu and a brace from Mbwana Samatta. Morocco responded with a 2-1 home win in the return leg, though neither side qualified for the World Cup in Brazil.
The two nations have since crossed paths in multiple qualification campaigns. Morocco eliminated Tanzania in the 2012 AFCON qualifiers and also completed back-to-back 2-0 victories in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, with goals from Hakim Ziyech, Nayef Aguerd and Brahim Diaz among the highlights.
Their most recent meeting came in the quarter-finals of the 2024 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) in August 2025, where Morocco edged Tanzania 1-0 on their way to lifting the title, thanks to Oussama Lamiloui’s second-half strike.
For Tanzania, this match represents another historic milestone. The Taifa Stars have reached the AFCON knockout stages for the first time in their history, progressing from the group phase with two points after a 1-1 draw against Tunisia. They are also enjoying a strong recent run, losing just once in their last five AFCON matches, although they remain winless after 12 appearances at the tournament.
Morocco, meanwhile, are appearing in the Round of 16 for the fourth time and will be eager to avoid another early exit, having been eliminated at this stage in both 2019 and 2023. Despite their pedigree, the hosts have lost their last two direct knockout matches and have conceded first in all three of their previous Round of 16 games.
Much of Morocco’s attacking threat at the current edition has come from Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El Kaabi, who have both scored three goals. Diaz has already made history by scoring in all three group matches and could become the first Moroccan player to score in four successive AFCON games.
Tanzania will draw encouragement from their improved attacking output, having scored in all three group matches for only the second time in their AFCON history. Midfielder Feisal Salum has been central to that progress, becoming the first domestically based Tanzanian player to score at AFCON since 1980.
