Tanzania will take on Senegal in the final of the CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 on Tuesday night in Rabat as they seek their first continental title.
The match will be played at Moulay El Hassan Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 local time (22:00 Tanzania time).
Tanzania reached the final for the first time in their history after defeating Egypt 4-3 on penalties following a goalless draw in the semi-finals. The Serengeti Boys are now aiming to win their first U-17 AFCON title.
Tanzania topped Group C ahead of Mali, Mozambique and Angola.
“Since the group stage, after playing two or three matches, the belief became stronger,” Tanzania coach Elieneza Nsanganzelu said.
“Everyone started to think that if we could achieve the first target, then maybe we could do something more. That changed the mentality of the players, the staff, the administrators, the fans in Tanzania, the government and everyone supporting us.
“Achieving the first stage gave us the strength to keep fighting until this point.”
They beat Algeria in shootouts to book a place in the semifinals against Egypt.
Senegal also booked their place in the final through a penalty shootout, edging hosts Morocco 7-6 after a 1-1 draw. The Young Lions of Teranga will be looking to add another continental youth title to their record.
Both teams have shown great resilience throughout the tournament, setting up an exciting contest for the championship.
“Senegal are a strong opponent. They have a big name in football. But at the level we have reached now, we can also say Tanzania are becoming a big football nation. We are going to battle against Senegal because we believe the style we play can give us an advantage.”
“We also believe we have the capability to defend against the way Senegal play. In football, 11 players from Senegal will come onto the pitch and 11 players from Tanzania will also come onto the pitch. That gives us equality. Whoever does better will win the match.”
Meanwhile, Egypt beat Morocco 2-0 in the third-place playoff on Monday.
The four semi-finalists, together with Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Algeria, Mozambique and Uganda, have all qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar later this year.
“It will be a very tough final because Senegal have confidence and they have done it before. For us as Tanzanians, we need to stick to our strategy. We need to be calm, stay away from pressure and play our game.”
“If we do that, we can bring the trophy to our country.”
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