Uganda vs. Tanzania: The Cranes and Taifa Stars enter do-or-die battle for AFCON survival

by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath

image Uganda vs. Tanzania: The Cranes and Taifa Stars enter do-or-die battle for AFCON survival
Uganda and Tanzania will meet at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat this evening in a decisive AFCON 2025 group-stage encounter, with both teams fully aware that defeat could spell the end of their knockout-round ambitions, while a victory would breathe new life into their hopes of progressing.

Paul Put labels Tanzania clash “most important game of the tournament”

Uganda faced a tough test in their opening fixture of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, as they proved no match for one of the tournament favourites, Tunisia, losing the match 3-1, which dropped them to the bottom of the standings in Group C.

However, most, including our AFCON 2025 predictions, expected the Cranes to struggle against the Carthage Eagles, and this match is now widely considered their best chance of securing three points and keeping their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive. 

While this is the first time that these East African rivals will meet at the Africa Cup of Nations, they are certainly no strangers to each other, and Paul Put explained in his pre-match press conference that this could be the make-or-break fixture for his side in the group. He said: 

“I think we know the situation. We lost the opening game, which is not ideal in a tough competition like this. We have to focus on this upcoming game and put the result behind us because there is still a high chance of us progressing if we secure a good result. It is currently the most important game of the tournament, and we will have to be aggressive and secure the result we need.”

However, Put and Co will have to overcome a recent dip in form in order to get something from this encounter. Their defeat to Tunisia earlier in the week was their third loss in their last four matches across all competitions. You can get full insights for this clash in our Uganda vs Tanzania prediction.

As far as their AFCON record is concerned, the Cranes have lost six of their last nine matches in the continental competition and are winless in their last four. Since the introduction of the group stage, Uganda have never won their second group-stage match in three appearances. 

Uganda key stats:

  • Uganda recorded only one shot on target in their opening AFCON match
  • Uganda have lost 17 of their 24 AFCON matches
  • Uganda are winless in their last four AFCON matches
  • Uganda have never won their second match since the group stage was introduced at AFCON

Miguel Gamondi expects “character and temperament” to decide the match

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Tanzania enter this match as the underdogs according to the best online betting sites, which is perhaps a tad surprising considering how they fared in their opening fixture of the tournament against Nigeria in Fez on Tuesday evening. 

While the Super Eagles largely dominated possession and dictated the tempo of the game, the Taifa Stars never yielded to the three-time African champions and even levelled proceedings at 1-1 through Charles M’Mombwa in the second half.

Unfortunately, a stunning strike from Ademola Lookman restored Eric Chelle’s side’s advantage, but Tanzania kept plugging away right until the end, with many feeling that the Super Eagles were the side hoping to hear the final whistle. 

Head coach Miguel Gamondi praised his side for their massive effort and the heart they showed against Nigeria, and has called on them to rally once again for this clash, which he feels could be a level contest and decided by fine margins. He said: 

“It was a good start despite the result. A win would be historic. Uganda are not a giant, but they are not an average team either. As East African nations, we are quite close in the level of competitiveness. All our encounters have been very competitive. This will not be an easy game. They had a strong qualification campaign, so we are on the same level. Character and temperament will decide the game.”

The rivalry between these East African rivals dates back more than 60 years, with their first encounter coming in 1964, which Tanzania won 3-0 in the East African Cup. The Taifa Stars’ largest defeat against the Cranes was a 5-0 drubbing at the CECAFFA Cup in 1991. 

While this is the first time they will meet in the AFCON proper, Uganda and Tanzania did face off during the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, and the Taifa Stars clinched 1-0 victories in both games, which saw them edge the Cranes to qualification for the tournament behind Algeria. 

Tanzania key stats:

  • Tanzania have never won a match at the AFCON finals (D3 L7)
  • Tanzania became the fourth team to fail to win their first 10 AFCON matches after losing to Nigeria
  • Tanzania have lost two and drawn one of their three second group-stage AFCON matches
  • Tanzania have only played to one goalless draw in the AFCON group stage