Morocco vs Tanzania prediction: AFRICA: Africa Cup of Nations betting tips on match 2024-01-16 17:00.
Morocco have been perennial underperformers at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), with nearly 50 years having elapsed since they won their one and only title. However, after finishing fourth at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and after losing just once in nine matches (W5, D3) since the most recent African Nations Championship, confidence is high that their āGolden Generationā could make history in the Ivory Coast.
Head coach Walid Regragui has certainly talked up his sideās hopes of glory, branding them as āfavouritesā to lift the trophy on February 11th. That would be quite something for a country who last reached the final in 2004 when Regragui was part of the playing squad! Either way, the Atlas Lions should at least be expecting a strong start to the tournament, given they have suffered just one group-stage defeat (W7, D4) since an awful campaign in 2012.
As if thatās not enough, they also have an impressive H2H record against upcoming opponents Tanzania, who have lost four of the five previous H2H meetings (W1). The Taifa Stars can break new ground in this fixture though, as after qualifying for the AFCON for just the third time, they go in search of their first-ever win at the tournament, with their six previous group games yielding just one point (D1, L5).
Adel Amroucheās men arenāt in the best of form, losing 2-0 to Egypt in their final warm-up encounter. That result means Tanzania have been defeated in six of their last 13 matches (W4, D3), while they havenāt even beaten a team ranked inside FIFAās top-80 at the time of the game since March 2019, something which does not bode well, given that Morocco are currently rated as the worldās 13th-best country.
Key battle: Morocco goalkeeper Bono has never conceded in the group stages of the AFCON (W4). Attempting to end that record may be Mbwana Samatta, who has only lost twice in the last 10 games in which he has scored for Tanzania (W6, D2).
Hot stat: Just six of Moroccoās last 20 contested internationals have seen both sides score.