U23 Tanzania Vs Kenya: Tanzania crash out of AFCON qualifiers despite beating Kenya

Tanzania’s Under-23 national team have been eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers despite securing a 3-1 victory over Kenya in the second leg at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

The result on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, was not enough to overturn Kenya’s commanding 4-1 victory from the first leg, with Kenya advancing 5-4 on aggregate. Tanzania came into the return leg needing at least three goals to keep their qualification hopes alive, and they made an impressive start.

Shekhan Ibrahim opened the scoring in the 16th minute, giving the hosts an early boost. Tanzania continued to press forward and were rewarded again in the 28th minute when Selemani Mwalimu found the back of the net to make it 2-0. With Tanzania now just one goal away from drawing level on aggregate, the hosts maintained the pressure after the break.

However, Kenya dealt a major blow to Tanzania’s comeback hopes in the 57th minute when Andres Odhiambo pulled one back to make it 2-1 on the night. Tanzania refused to give up and continued searching for the goals they needed.

Their persistence finally paid off in the 89th minute when Mwalimu scored his second goal of the night to complete the 3-1 victory. Despite the late goal, Tanzania were unable to find the additional strike required to overturn the first-leg deficit.

The 3-1 win meant Tanzania scored four goals across the two matches, but Kenya’s 4-1 first-leg advantage proved decisive as they progressed with a 5-4 aggregate victory.

For Tanzania U23, the result marks the end of their AFCON qualification campaign, while Kenya moves forward after surviving a determined fightback in Dar es Salaam.