Tanzania return to action in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers when they journey to the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium to go head to head with Zambia on Tuesday.
Having failed to win the last six meetings between the two nations since November 2007, Hemed Suleiman's men will head into the game looking to get one over the Chipolopolo and end their run of four straight competitive games without a win.
Match preview
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Zambia were denied consecutive victories for the first time since November as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Morocco when the two nations squared off at the Stade Adrar on Friday.
Hakim Ziyech converted his sixth-minute penalty to hand Morocco a dream start to the game, and after Eliesse Ben Seghir doubled their lead in the 67th minute, Edward Chilufya pulled one back in the 80th minute.
Prior to that, Zambia snapped their run of six consecutive games without a win across all competitions on March 26 when they beat Malawi 2-1 thanks to first-half goals from Clatous Chama and Patson Daka.
Having kicked off their World Cup qualifying journey with a resounding 4-2 victory over Congo, Avram Grant's side have now lost their two subsequent matches, while conceding four goals and scoring once in that time.
Despite their shaky start to the campaign, the Chipolopolo currently sit second in Group E, level on points with Niger and Tanzania, and could move level with first-placed Morocco with all three points on Tuesday.
Tanzania, on the other hand, kicked off their qualifying journey on November 18, when they narrowly edged out Niger 1-0 at the Stade de Marrakech thanks to a second-half strike from Charles M'Mombwa.
However, the Taifa Stars were sent crashing back down to earth three days later as they were beaten 2-0 by Morocco when the sides squared off at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium.
Since then, Suleiman's men have endured a tough run of results as they crashed out of the 2023 AFCON in the group stages after picking up just two points from their three matches and have failed to win two of their four friendly matches this year, including a goalless draw with Indonesia on June 2.
Tanzania now return to action in the World Cup qualifiers against an opposing side whom they have failed to get the better of in any of their last six encounters, losing four and claiming two draws since a 1-0 victory in November 2007.
Team News
Off the back of an eye-catching display off the bench against Morocco on Friday, Hacken striker Chilufya could be rewarded with a place in the starting XI on Tuesday.
Should that be the case, the 24-year-old should form the attacking duo with Leicester City man Daka, while Emmanuel Banda and Changa Chaiwa should retain their roles at the centre of the park.
At the defensive end of the pitch, we expect to see an unchanged back three of Frankie Musonda, Stoppila Sunzu and Tandi Mwape, with Power Dynamos goalkeeper Lawrence Mulenga starting between the sticks.
As for Tanzania, Suleiman could name a similar XI to the sides that started against Indonesia last Sunday, with Mohamed Husseini, Mukrim Issa, Lameck Lawi and Miano van den Bos forming the back four once again.
Charles M'Mombwa, Mohamed Husseini, Yusuph Kagoma, Morice Abraham and Himid Mao Mkami should retain their roles in midfield while Waziri Junior and Edwin Balua should form the two-man attack.
Zambia possible starting lineup:
Mulenga; F Musonda, Sunzu, Mwape; L Musonda, Banda, Chaiwa, Mphande, Kangwa; Chilufya, Daka
Tanzania possible starting lineup:
Juma; Husseini, Issa, Lawi Van den Bos; M'Mombwa, Husseini, Kagoma, Abraham, Mkami; Junior, Balua
We say: Zambia 2-1 Tanzania
Following their narrow defeat against Morocco, Zambia will head into Tuesday's game looking to quickly bounce back and get their qualifying campaign back on track. Tanzania have failed to win their last six games against Grant's men and we see them struggling once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
