CHAN2024: Kapombe's superb strike leaves Tanzania on brink of knockout stage
Reading Time: 3min | Wed. 06.08.25. | 22:24
The win draws Tanzania close to the knockout stages of the tournament as two more points will be enough for them
Tanzania's national men’s football team, the Taifa Stars, continued their perfect run at the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) with a narrow 1-0 win over Mauritania at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Wednesday night.
In a match that looked destined for a goalless draw, veteran defender Shomari Kapombe emerged the hero, scoring a dramatic 89th-minute winner to secure Tanzania’s second consecutive victory in Group B.
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The hosts, buoyed by their opening-day win, were keen to build momentum and solidify their place at the top of the group.
And while their performance was far from polished, the result puts them in firm control of the pool.
Earlier in the day in Zanzibar, Burkina Faso revived their campaign with a convincing 4-2 win over the Central African Republic (CAR), blowing Group B wide open with just two rounds of fixtures remaining.
With six points from two matches, Tanzania now leads the group and needs just one more win or at worst, two draws in their remaining games against CAR and Madagascar to book a spot in the quarterfinals.
Match Report
Mauritania started on the front foot, winning a free kick in the third minute that Mohamed Ramadane curled into the wall.
They earned back-to-back corners shortly after but failed to trouble Hemed Suleiman’s charges.
By the sixth minute, the Lopaz Garay-coached side had settled into rhythm, dictating possession with crisp passing but lacked the cutting edge.
Taifa Stars' first real moment came in the seventh minute through Kapombe, who intercepted a short pass and charged forward but was unable to finish.
Feisal 'Fei Toto' Salum and Kapombe later combined to earn a corner that did not bear fruit.
Shortly after, Dickson Nickson Job fired a long-range shot, which was Tanzania's first effort on target.
Despite growing into the game, Tanzania’s attacking duo of Clement Mzize and Abdul Sopu struggled to crack the Mauritanian defence.
Mzize had the clearest chance in the 40th minute but skied his effort.
He was again denied by a brilliant save from Abderrahmane Sarr after being set up by Fei Toto a minute later, while Mauritania missed a golden opportunity themselves just before halftime when Ahmed Ahmed fired wide from close range after a Kagoma error.
Second Half
The second half kicked off with renewed urgency, as both sides looked to tilt the contest in their favour.
Tanzania dominated the early phases, and in the 65th minute, Mzize had a golden chance but could not convert, continuing his night of missed chances.
Mauritania responded by making double substitutions just before the 70th minute in an attempt to regain control, but Tanzania’s defence, marshalled by Kapombe, remained firm.
Just as the match looked set to end in a stalemate, Kapombe initiated a move from deep in defence in the 89th minute.
Iddi Seleiman swung in a cross, and Kapombe, who had continued his run, controlled the ball before unleashing a hard shot into the roof to send the stadium into a frenzy.
The win takes Tanzania to six points from two matches, three ahead of Burkina Faso, and firmly places them on course for a spot in the last eight.
Mauritania, now with just one point from two matches (a draw against Madagascar and losses to Tanzania), must win both of their remaining fixtures, against CAR and Burkina Faso, to have any chance of advancing.
Tanzania will next face the Madagascar, while Mauritania’s margin for error is gone.
