Preview: Morocco vs Tanzania - prediction, team news, lineups

Hosts Morocco will take on Tanzania in their round of 16 clash at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations at Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah on Sunday.

The Atlas Lions finished top of Group A after two victories and a draw in the previous round, while Tanzania booked their place as one of the best third-placed finishers of the first round.

Match preview

After a fairly impressive first-round showing, which saw them claim seven points from three matches, Morocco will aim to secure a quarter-final berth when they face Tanzania on Sunday.

The 1976 champions were in a similar position after the preliminary round, but South Africa dumped them out at the same stage of the competition after a 2-0 triumph.

However, the circumstances are different now, with Walid Regragui’s team playing in front of a vociferous home crowd, and, as the FIFA Arab Cup champions, they will back themselves to get past the Taifa Stars and go as far as possible in the competition.

Given their blistering form, which has seen them emerge as winners inside regulation time in seven of their last 10 fixtures across all competitions, with the others being draws, Morocco are well poised to reach the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2021.

With their eyes set on a second African title in about five decades, the Atlas Lions have what it takes to go all the way, but first, they have to scale the hurdle of Tanzania in their first game of the knockout round.

Indeed, Tanzania will face their biggest test of the competition when they file out against Morocco on Sunday.

Their journey to this stage of the competition was anything but smooth, having made it to the round of 16 as the lowest-ranked third-placed team in this year’s competition.

This will be the first appearance of the Taifa Stars in the knockout round in 45 years, and the encounter against the Atlas Lions presents them with an opportunity to break new ground in the history of the tournament.

However, they will face a herculean task against vastly superior opponents who will have the backing of a partisan home crowd on Sunday that could pass for the 12th man in Moroccan colours.

Besides playing in front of hostile fans, the head-to-head record of both sides is tilted towards Morocco, who have won seven of their previous meetings, with Tanzania’s solitary victory recorded way back in 2013.

Morocco Africa Cup of Nations form:

Morocco form (all competitions):

Tanzania Africa Cup of Nations form:

Tanzania form (all competitions):

Team News

The biggest news for Morocco before their final group game against Zambia was that PSG right-back Achraf Hakimi could play a part in that encounter.

The former Real Madrid and Inter Milan defender was not named in the starting XI, but he came on for Noussair Mazraoui in the 64th minute of that encounter. That said, all indications point towards the Manchester United defender keeping his place for the clash against Tanzania.

Romain Saiss suffered a muscle injury in Morocco’s first game of the competition, and he has not featured since then, making his participation in this fixture doubtful.

Olympiacos striker Ayoub El Kaabi has made a strong case for himself to start against Tanzania after his three goals in the same number of matches.

For Tanzania, we expect the same team that started their final group game against Tunisia to be sent out by Hemed Suleiman.

Mbwana Samatta, who is yet to find the back of the net in this competition, is expected to lead the line with support from Simon Msuva, Faisal Salum and Haji Mnoga.

Morocco possible starting lineup:

Bono; Salah-Eddine, El Yamiq, Aguerd, Mazraoui; Ounahi, Amrabat, El Aynaoui; Saibari, El Kaabi, Diaz

Tanzania possible starting lineup:

Masalanga; Hussein, Hamad, Nwamnyeto, Job; Miroshi, Msanga; Msuva, Salum, Mnoga; Samatta

We say: Morocco 2-0 Tanzania

On account of their respective performances in this year’s competition, this appears to be a straightforward match for the Moroccans, and they look poised to claim a victory and subsequently book their place in the last eight of the tournament. The Atlas Lions are good value for a victory, and we predict a 2-0 win for the hosts.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.