Walid Regragui, coach of Morocco and Achraf Hakimi of Morocco during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations AFCON Morocco press conference at Main Media Centre in Rabat, Morocco on 28 December 2025 ©Samuel ShivambuBackpagePix
Saturday Jan 03, 2026. 11:00
Morocco will be looking to keep the momentum going when they take on Tanzania at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 on Sunday.
Kick-off is at 6pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)
The Atlas Lions came into the tournament on home soil in formidable form after winning a record 18 consecutive matches and extending it to 19 with 2-0 victory over Comoros in their Group A opener on December 21.
However, their impressive streak came to an end five days later when Mali held Walid Regragui’s side to a 1-1 draw, although the host nation bounced back by beating Zambia 3-0 to take their unbeaten run to 23 games.
Morocco last tasted defeat almost two years ago after bowing out of AFCON 2023 at the same stage following a 2-0 loss to South Africa, and Regragui insists they are treating every game like a final in a bid to win a first AFCON title in 50 years.
“We are the home team so we must always play our games as a final. We have a very supportive crowd who are rallying behind us,” Regragui said.
“That is why all the players are giving it their utmost best in every match. We look forward to the knockout stages and will continue working hard.”
The Taifa Stars made history when they reached the knockout stages for the first time in four attempts after finishing as one of the best-ranked third-placed teams despite not winning any of their opening three matches.
Miguel Angel Gamondi’s side began their AFCON campaign with a 2-1 reverse to Nigeria on December 23 before playing out to successive 1-1 draws against Uganda and Tunisia.
Tanzania faced the Atlas Lions as recently as last year when they were drawn together in the same qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup, with the North Africans running out 2-0 victors on 25 March 2025.