Tanzania reached the semi-finals of the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 after beating Algeria 4-3 on penalties following a dramatic 3-3 draw in their quarter-final on Sunday.at the Mohammed VI Football Academy pitch on Sunday, 24 March.
The Serengeti Boys, who last week secured their historic ticket to the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup set to be held in Qatar, held their nerve when it mattered most, to book their place in the semifinals.
The result sends Tanzania into the last four and continues their impressive run at the tournament, where they have emerged as one of the strongest stories of the competition.
Muhammad Valmy struck with precision in the fourth minute, to hand the Young Fennecs an early advantage before, Tanzania responded through Dismas Athanasis, who restored parity in the 25th minute.
But Valmy was not done yet, completing his brace five minutes before the break to put Algeria back in front as Luqman Mbalasalu rescued Tanzania with a dramatic equaliser in the eighth minute of the added time.
After the restart, Tanzania took the lead for the first time in the match when Athanasis grabbed his second goal of the evening in the 61st minute.
However, Algeria, however, refused to surrender, with Noam Benderamdane levelling matters once again just four minutes later.
Neither side could find a winner before the final whistle, sending the tie to a nerve-shredding penalty shootout.
Once there, it would be the Tanzanians who would emerge victors, going perfect on all their kicks, with Algeria missing their third and fifth penalties, which were taken by regular-time goal-scorers Benderamdane and Valmy, respectively.
For Tanzania, the victory confirmed their status as one of the revelations of the tournament.
They had topped Group C with strong performances before the quarter-finals, and their resilience against Algeria showed they have the mentality to match their attacking quality.
Both sides pushed for a winner in normal time, but neither could find the decisive goal.
The match was eventually settled by penalties, where Tanzania showed greater composure to win 4-3 and seal their place in the semi-finals.
For Algeria, it was a painful end after they had fought back from 3-2 down and looked capable of going further in the competition.
The young Fennecs had come through a difficult Group D, where they finished level on points with Ghana but advanced because of their better goal difference.
They also produced one of the standout individual performers of the tournament in Yacine Abid, who had earlier scored twice against South Africa.
But their journey in the race for the U-17 AFCON title ended in a shootout.
The win also means Tanzania will battle Egypt in the semi finals.
