Looking to make it back-to-back wins at the beginning of a potential road to North America, Tanzania will host Morocco at Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium on Tuesday night in CAF World Cup qualifiers.
The Kilimanjaro Stars secured a narrow opening-day success over Niger last time out, while Morocco are yet to kick off their quest to feature at the next World Cup.
Match preview
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After being drawn into a competitive-looking section alongside Morocco, Zambia, Congo and Niger, Tanzania faced the latter nation on Saturday afternoon and managed to come away from Stade de Marrakech with maximum points to kick-start their qualification campaign for 2026.
Charles M'Mombwa netted the Kilimanjaro Stars' only goal of the contest in the second period against Niger, and with Simba goalkeeper Aishi Manula keeping a clean sheet on the weekend, Tanzania were able to earn all three points during round one of the rejigged format of qualification.
Adel Amrouche's side finished only behind North African giants Algeria in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying group earlier in the year, despite Tanzania winning just two of their six matches and scoring only three goals as they bested Uganda and the aforementioned Niger.
The Kilimanjaro Stars have only faced off against Morocco on three occasions in their humble footballing history, with Tuesday's hosts beating the Atlas Lions 3-1 when they last visited Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in March 2013.
Following their remarkable run to the semi-finals of last year's World Cup in Qatar, Morocco will be expecting to book their place at the 2026 edition of the competition with a flawless qualifying campaign, but they have had to wait until now to get their North American mission underway.
The Atlas Lions were scheduled to clash with Eritrea earlier in this international window to start the Group E matches, but the Red Sea Camels decided to withdraw from the qualification process due to worries that some players would seek political asylum after leaving the country.
Since exiting the World Cup at the final-four stage due to the talents of Kylian Mbappe and France, Morocco have endured a mixed 2023, beating South American giants Brazil in a friendly March but also playing out less-than-inspiring goalless draws with Peru and Cape Verde.
Many of the Atlas Lions' star names have earned big-money moves after impressing at last year's World Cup, including Sofyan Amrabat and goalkeeper Bono, who secured lucrative switches to Manchester United of the Premier League and Al-Hilal of the Saudi Pro League respectively.
Team News
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Tanzania are expected to field a similar XI to the one which defeated Niger in their opener earlier in the international break, meaning Aldershot Town's Haji Mnoga and Bakari Nondo will start at the heart of the hosts' backline.
Sospeter Bajana was handed only his third international appearance last time out since making his debut back in December, and the midfielder should line up alongside Ibrahim Hamad and Simon Msuva in the engine room once again.
Despite having not featured for Marseille since the win over Nice in Ligue 1 on October 21 due to a thigh injury, midfielder Azzedine Ounahi has been included in the Morocco squad and could play a part on Tuesday.
Former France Under-21 international Sofiane Diop has been named in an Atlas Lions squad for the first time after pledging his allegiance to the World Cup semi-finalists, and the Nice youngster could make his debut in Tanzania.
With 17 international goals to his name, the towering Youssef En-Nesyri could move above former Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh in the nation's all-time scoring charts should the 26-year-old bag a brace on Tuesday night.
Tanzania possible starting lineup:
Manula; Dickson, Nondo, Mnoga, Miroshi; Msuva, Hamad, Bajana; Samatta, M'Mombwa, Salum
Morocco possible starting lineup:
Bono; Hakimi, Aguerd, Saiss, Attiyat Allah; Azzouzi, Harit, Ounahi; Khannous, En-Nesyri, Kaabi
We say: Tanzania 0-2 Morocco
Tanzania got their World Cup qualification campaign off to a solid start with victory over Niger, but the visit of Morocco is arguably the sternest test that a nation could face in the CAF region.
The Atlas Lions will be raring to get some points on the board after their contest with Eritrea was cancelled at short notice, and we believe that Walid Regragui's men will earn maximum points in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
