Famous for being home to Mount Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest mountain and the world’s highest free-standing mountain above sea level, one would say that Tanzanians know a thing or two about facing a giant in front of you.
That is the tale that the Twiga Stars will have to invoke when they take on in-form Côte d’Ivoire in their last Group B match with a place to the knockout stages of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 on the line.
Bakari Shime’s outfit started the tournament with a surprise 2-1 victory over former WAFCON winners South Africans, their first triumph in tounament history, before falling 2-1 to Burkina Faso in a thrilling tie at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca.
Tanzania are facing West African opposition for the sixth time, having previously played Mali twice and Nigeria, Ghana and Burkina Faso once each. The Twiga Stars have lost all five.
Twiga Stars out to reverse trend
Just like they managed to dig deep in their opener to attain their first ever WAFCON victory, Tanzania will be looking to write more history at the continental competition and attain their second objective – which is to qualify for the knockout stages.
But in front of them is a relentless Côte d’Ivoire side that have one foot in the quarterfinals.
“Our loss to Burkina Faso was devastating but we have re-assembled our energies to focus on our next match. This is a must-win one for us to stay in the competition. It is a difficult match but we want to fight for our country and to represent Tanzania in the best way possible,” Shime says with hope.
His captain Opa Clement adds, “This is it. This is the game that defines our tournament and we have spoken amongst ourselves as players and also listened to the coaches. We are ready to implement what we have been told. The plan is to be victorious and go to the knockout stages of the WAFCON. That would mean so much to us as a team.”
The Twiga Stars will be without Madrid CFF forward Hasnath Ubamba who was sent off in the loss to Burkina Faso. She scored Tanzania’s winner over South Africa and will be a crucial miss.
This is Tanzania’s third WAFCON appearance and second in a row but Tuesday’s match will be the first meeting between Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire at the WAFCON.
Victory will send either side into the quarterfinals, though Tanzania will finish as group winners only if Burkina Faso fail to defeat South Africa. A draw will be enough for Tanzania to progress if Burkina Faso lose to South Africa. It would also mean that Côte d’Ivoire progress.
