Taifa Stars drawn in challenging group for 2025 AFCON qualifiers

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania's national football team, Taifa Stars, has been placed in a challenging group for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) scheduled to take place in Morocco in December next year.

Taifa Stars are in Group H alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Guinea, and Ethiopia.

According to FIFA, DR Congo and Guinea are the favorites in the group, while Tanzania and Ethiopia are considered underdogs.

In FIFA’s latest rankings, DR Congo is placed 61st with 1,400.93 points, Guinea is 77th with 1,324.8 points, Tanzania is 114th with 1,174.99 points, and Ethiopia is 143rd with 1,066.16 points.

In the 2023 AFCON finals held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Taifa Stars recorded a barren draw against DR Congo in Group F.

However, DR Congo advanced to the knockout stage after placing second, while Tanzania was eliminated.

Guinea, placed in Group C with Senegal and Cameroon, also qualified for the knockout stage as the best third-place finisher. In the knockout stage, Guinea eliminated Equatorial Guinea before being defeated by DR Congo 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

Ethiopia, who won the AFCON title in 1962, has failed to qualify for the group stage in recent years and has opted out of many editions.

Group A: Tunisia, Madagascar, Comoros, Gambia

Group B: Morocco, Gabon, Central African Republic, Lesotho

Group C: Egypt, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Botswana

Group D: Nigeria, Benin, Libya, Rwanda

Group E: Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Togo, Liberia

Group F: Ghana, Angola, Sudan, Niger

Group G: Côte d'Ivoire, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Chad

Group H: DR Congo, Guinea, Tanzania, Ethiopia

Group I: Mali, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Eswatini

Group J: Cameroon, Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe

Group K: South Africa, Uganda, Congo, South Sudan

Group L: Senegal, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Burundi