Tanzania national football team

Tanzania
Nickname(s)	Taifa Stars
Association	Tanzania Football Federation
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	CECAFA (East & Central Africa)
Head coach	Kim Poulsen
Captain	Mbwana Samatta
Most caps	Erasto Nyoni (103)
Top scorer	Mrisho Ngasa (25)
Home stadium	National Stadium
FIFA code	TAN
FIFA ranking
Current	132 3 (16 September 2021)
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; 1 December 1995) ; Tanzania 7–0 Somalia ; (Kampala, Uganda; 1 December 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 theirhead coach is Kim Poulsen from Denmark. 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).

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.^{[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]}

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	Did not qualify
2023	To be determined
2025	To be determined
Total	Group stage	2/33	6	0	1	5	5	14

African Nations Championship record[]

African Nations Championship
Appearances: 2
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	Group stage	10th	3	1	1	1	3	4
2022	To be determined
Total	Group stage	2/6	6	2	2	2	5	6

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
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	Champions	1st	6	4	1	1	7	1
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.

2020[]

11 October Friendly	Tanzania	0–1	Burundi	showDar es Salaam, Tanzania
			Ntibazonkiza 85'	Stadium: National Stadium

13 November 2021 AFCONQ	Tunisia	1–0	Tanzania	showRadès, Tunisia
20:00 UTC+1	Msakni 18' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Stade Olympique de Rades Referee: Helder Martins de Carvalho (Angola)

17 November 2021 AFCONQ	Tanzania	1–1	Tunisia	showDar es Salaam, Tanzania
22:00 UTC+3	48'	Report	Khaoui 11'	Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)

2021[]

15 March Friendly	Kenya	2–1	Tanzania	showNairobi, Kenya
12:00 UTC+2	Kapaito 21' Abdallah 58'	Report	39'	Stadium: Nyayo National Stadium Referee: (Kenya)

25 March 2021 AFCONQ	Equatorial Guinea	1–0	Tanzania	showMalabo, Equatorial Guinea
20:00 UTC+1	Nsue 90'	Report		Stadium: Estadio de Malabo Referee: Bernard Camille (Seychelles)

28 March 2021 AFCONQ	Tanzania	1–0	Libya	showDar es Salaam, Tanzania
16:00 UTC+3	Msuva 45+2'	Report		Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Hassan Mohamed Hagi (Somalia)

13 June Friendly	Tanzania	2–0	Malawi	showDar es Salaam, Tanzania
16:00 UTC+3	Bocco 68' 75'	Report		Stadium: National Stadium Referee: (Tanzania)

2 September 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Group J	DR Congo	1–1	Tanzania	showLubumbashi, DR Congo
15:00 UTC+2	Mbokani 23'	Report	Msuva 36'	Stadium: Stade TP Mazembe Referee: Kalilou Ibrahim Traore (Ivory Coast)

7 September 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Group J	Tanzania	3–2	Madagascar	showDar es Salaam, Tanzania
21:00 UTC+3	Nyoni 2' (pen.) Dismas 26' Salum 53'	Report	Rakotoharimalala 36' Fontaine 45+2'	Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Mashood Ssali (Uganda)

Players[]

Current squad[]

The following players were called up for the friendly match.
Match date: 13 June 2021
Opposition: Malawi
Caps and goals are correct as of: 30 June 2021, after the match against Malawi.^[3]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Juma Kaseja	(1985-04-13) 13 April 1985 (age 36)	79	0	KMC
13	1GK	Metacha Mnata	(1998-11-25) 25 November 1998 (age 22)	5	0	Young Africans
18	1GK	Aishi Manula	(1995-09-13) 13 September 1995 (age 26)	44	0	Simba

2	2DF		(2000-03-10) 10 March 2000 (age 21)	2	1	KMC
4	2DF	Erasto Nyoni	(1988-05-07) 7 May 1988 (age 33)	103	6	Simba
5	2DF		(2000-12-29) 29 December 2000 (age 20)	2	0	Young Africans
15	2DF		(1996-11-01) 1 November 1996 (age 24)	24	0	Simba
21	2DF	Shomari Kapombe	(1992-01-28) 28 January 1992 (age 29)	77	1	Simba
24	2DF		(1994-09-27) 27 September 1994 (age 26)	7	0	Simba
25	2DF		(1995-10-05) 5 October 1995 (age 25)	17	0	Young Africans
28	2DF	Edward Manyama	(1994-04-02) 2 April 1994 (age 27)	4	1	Namungo

6	3MF	Feisal Salum	(1998-01-11) 11 January 1998 (age 23)	16	1	Young Africans
8	3MF	Salum Abubakar	(1989-02-21) 21 February 1989 (age 32)	48	1	Azam
11	3MF		(2003-08-13) 13 August 2003 (age 18)	0	0	Free agent
19	3MF	Mzamiru Yassin	(1996-01-03) 3 January 1996 (age 25)	29	0	Simba
26	3MF		(1997-01-01) 1 January 1997 (age 24)	3	0	Kagera Sugar
27	3MF	Mudathir Yahya	(1995-05-06) 6 May 1995 (age 26)	20	0	Azam

3	4FW	Nickson Kibabage	(2000-10-12) 12 October 2000 (age 20)	7	0	Youssoufia Berrechid
9	4FW		(2001-02-26) 26 February 2001 (age 20)	3	0	Coastal Union
14	4FW	Raphael Bocco	(1989-08-05) 5 August 1989 (age 32)	79	17	Simba
16	4FW			1	0	Mbeya City
17	4FW	Yohana Mkomola	(2000-04-18) 18 April 2000 (age 21)	2	0	Inhulets Petrove
22	4FW		(1998-03-23) 23 March 1998 (age 23)	11	1	Azam
23	4FW	Iddy Nado	(1995-11-03) 3 November 1995 (age 25)	11	0	Azam

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

DF		(2002-01-20) 20 January 2002 (age 19)	0	0	Azam	vs. Libya, 28 March 2021
DF		Unknown	0	0	Simba	vs. Libya, 28 March 2021
DF	Kelvin Yondan	(1984-10-09) 9 October 1984 (age 36)	97	0		vs. Libya, 28 March 2021
DF	Abdalla Kheri	(1996-11-11) 11 November 1996 (age 24)	2	0	Azam	v. Tunisia, 13 November 2020
DF	Abdalla Haji Shaibu	(1998-10-21) 21 October 1998 (age 22)	0	0	Young Africans	v. Tunisia, 13 November 2020

MF	Himid Mao	(1992-11-15) 15 November 1992 (age 28)	60	2	El Entag El Harby	vs. Libya, 28 March 2021
MF	Jonas Mkude	(1992-12-03) 3 December 1992 (age 28)	34	0	Simba	vs. Libya, 28 March 2021
MF	Simon Msuva	(1993-10-02) 2 October 1993 (age 27)	67	14	Wydad AC	vs. Libya, 28 March 2021
MF	Saidi Ndemla	(1996-03-11) 11 March 1996 (age 25)	16	1	Simba	v. Tunisia, 13 November 2020

FW	Shaaban Idd Chilunda	(1998-07-20) 20 July 1998 (age 23)	6	0	Moghreb Tétouan	vs. Libya, 28 March 2021
FW	Hassan Dilunga	(1993-10-20) 20 October 1993 (age 27)	18	0	Simba	vs. Libya, 28 March 2021
FW	Deus Kaseke	(1994-08-27) 27 August 1994 (age 27)	10	0	Young Africans	vs. Libya, 28 March 2021
FW	Faridi Mussa	(1996-06-21) 21 June 1996 (age 25)	34	1	Young Africans	vs. Libya, 28 March 2021
FW	Mbwana Samatta	(1992-12-23) 23 December 1992 (age 28)	60	21	Fenerbahçe	vs. Libya, 28 March 2021
FW	Thomas Ulimwengu	(1993-06-14) 14 June 1993 (age 28)	50	7	Mazembe	vs. Libya, 28 March 2021
FW		Unknown	0	0	JKT Ruvu Stars	v. Tunisia, 13 November 2020
FW	Ditram Nchimbi	(1997-03-10) 10 March 1997 (age 24)	10	1	Young Africans	v. Tunisia, 13 November 2020
^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.

Player records[]

As of 28 March 2021^[4]

Players in bold are still active with Tanzania.

Most capped players[]

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Erasto Nyoni	103	6	2006–present
2	Mrisho Ngassa	100	25	2006–2015
3	Kelvin Yondani	97	0	2008–present
4	Juma Kaseja	79	0	2002–present
4	John Bocco	79	17	2009–present
6	Shomari Kapombe	77	1	2011–present
7	Simon Msuva	67	14	2012–present
8	Shaban Nditi	62	2	2002–2012
9	Himid Mao	60	2	2013–present
	Shadrack Nsajigwa	60	3	2002–2012
	Mbwana Samatta	60	21	2011–present

Top goalscorers[]

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Mrisho Ngassa	25	100	0.25	2006–2015
2	Mbwana Samatta	21	60	0.35	2011–present
3	John Bocco	17	79	0.22	2009–present
4	Simon Msuva	14	67	0.21	2012–present
5		12	22	0.55	1992–2002
6	Jerson Tegete	8	28	0.29	2006–2011
6	Danny Mrwanda	8	34	0.24	2005–2011
8		7	20	0.35	2002–2011
8	Thomas Ulimwengu	7	51	0.14	2010–present
10		6	20	0.3	2013–2017
		6	27	0.22	1992–2002
	Amri Kiemba	6	38	0.16	2012–2015
	Mwinyi Kazimoto	6	48	0.13	2009–2016
	Nurdin Bakari	6	51	0.12	2004–2011
	Erasto Nyoni	6	103	0.06	2006–present

Coaches[]

Bert Trautmann (1975)
Geoff Hudson (1977–1979)
(1979–1980)^[5]
(1980–1981)
Rudi Gutendorf (1981)
Joseph Bendera^[6] (1987)
Paul West (1992)^[7]
(1993)^[8]
(1995–1997)
Badru Hafidh (1998)
Sylersaid Mziray (1998)^[9]
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)
(2014, caretaker)
Mart Nooij (2014–2015)
Charles Boniface Mkwasa (2015–2017)
Salum Mayanga (2017–2018)
Emmanuel Amunike (2018–2019)
Etienne Ndayiragije (2019–2021)
Kim Poulsen (2021–)

Honours[]

CECAFA Cup :

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

References[]

^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
^ "Tanzania - Details (2021)". National Football Teams. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
^ "Tanzania". National Football Teams.
^ [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. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-2] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.

[3] "Tanzania - Details (2021)". National Football Teams. Retrieved 13 June 2021.

[4] "Tanzania". National Football Teams.

[5] [1]

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

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

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

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

[1]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

show v t National football teams of Africa (CAF)
North Africa (UNAF)	Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Tunisia
West Africa (WAFU)	Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo
East Africa (CECAFA)	Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zanzibar¹
Central Africa (UNIFFAC)	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo DR Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon São Tomé and Príncipe
Southern Africa (COSAFA)	Angola Botswana Comoros Eswatini Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe
Non-regional Members	Réunion¹
¹ Associate member of CAF but not member of FIFA

show v t Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations
CAF FIFA
International Competitions	CECAFA Senior Championship CECAFA U-20 Championship CECAFA U-17 Championship CECAFA U-15 Championship CECAFA Women's Championship
Club Competitions	CECAFA Club Cup CECAFA Nile Basin Cup
Current members	Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zanzibar
National Teams	Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zanzibar

show v t National sports teams of Tanzania
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