Tanzania arrive in Uyo for Friday 17:00 WAT qualifier
Tanzania arrived in Uyo on Tuesday morning, 10 November 2026, after landing at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and connecting to Akwa Ibom, The Guardian Nigeria reported. Friday's 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against the Super Eagles at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium is set for 17:00 WAT, according to the Nigeria Football Federation and The Guardian Nigeria.
By Emily · · Updated
When did Tanzania arrive, and when is kick-off?
The Tanzania squad arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday morning, 10 November 2026, via Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja before connecting to Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, The Guardian Nigeria reported, in a dispatch by Ayomide John timed at 10:45 AM WAT.
Friday's 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Nigeria is at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo. The Nigeria Football Federation, in an accreditation notice dated 7 November, said the match "will kick off at 17:00hrs" on Friday 13 November 2026 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium. The Guardian Nigeria, after the visitors landed, separately reported kick-off "set for 5 p.m. local time." Those two accounts agree on 17:00 WAT.
The return fixture is on Tuesday 17 November. The Citizen placed that match in Zanzibar. This page does not invent a kick-off time for the return leg.
The Guardian Nigeria said Super Eagles head coach Éric Chelle arrived in Uyo on Monday morning, with preparations due to commence on Tuesday. That is a scheduled start, not a report of a completed training session, and this page does not describe work on the training ground.
A brief recap of Monday's injury news, because it still shapes the visiting party: Tanzania Football Federation media director Clifford Ndimbo told The Citizen that Clement Mzize and Dickson Job were ruled out through injury and stayed at Young Africans for treatment after the club's request was accepted. That is background, not the hook of this dispatch.
What did Punch report about Monday's empty arrivals hall?
Punch, in a report by Abiodun Adewale published at 12:12 am on 10 November, said Super Eagles preparations had yet to gather momentum because both squads were still awaiting players in Uyo as of Monday. Punch said Chelle arrived in the early hours of Monday and was later joined by assistant Daniel Ogunmodede, but that sources in Uyo told the paper no Super Eagles player had arrived at Victor Attah International Airport as of Monday evening, and that Tanzania's flight had been rescheduled to Tuesday.
"We were at the airport from morning until evening on Monday, and none of the players arrived. When the last flight of the day landed, we checked the manifest, but no player was on board," a source told Punch. The same source said Tanzania had also been due to land in Uyo on Monday, "but we were told they would not be coming until Tuesday."
This page does not claim that Super Eagles players have since landed. No Tuesday source in the set used here has confirmed those arrivals.
Where does Group L stand, and what is the recent history?
The Guardian Nigeria and Punch both place Guinea-Bissau at the top of Group L on six points after two wins, including a victory over the Super Eagles, with Nigeria second on three points. Punch recapped Nigeria's 2-1 win over Madagascar in Uyo and the 3-0 defeat in Bissau, and Tanzania's 2-0 loss to Guinea-Bissau and 1-1 draw with Madagascar. Tanzania have already secured qualification for the 2027 finals as co-hosts with Kenya and Uganda, leaving one remaining place in the group, The Guardian Nigeria and Punch both reported.
The Guardian Nigeria described Friday's meeting as the seventh between the sides, with Nigeria holding four wins and two draws, and said the most recent meeting was a 2-1 Super Eagles win at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, through goals from Semi Ajayi and Ademola Lookman. Those head-to-head figures are attributed to that report only.
The Guardian Nigeria named Tanzania's head coach as Miguel Angel Gamindi. The spelling used on this desk, including in this morning's injury report, is Miguel Ángel Gamondi, the form also used by The Citizen and Daily Post Nigeria. The variance is recorded here rather than silently overwritten.
Punch also noted that Chelle released a 24-man squad on Saturday and will be without Victor Osimhen, again sidelined by injury. That squad news is already on the record and is not the lead of this arrival story.
TuSport desk: a published 17:00 WAT kick-off, and an empty camp the night before
The new information in this window is not the injury list from Monday. It is that Tanzania are now on the ground in Uyo, and that a kick-off time is finally on the record. The Nigeria Football Federation's accreditation notice of 7 November said 17:00hrs. The Guardian Nigeria, writing after the visitors landed on Tuesday, reported kick-off set for 5 p.m. local time. Those two lines agree on 17:00 WAT. This morning's injury reports had not published a time, so none was listed then.
Set that against Punch's Monday-night reporting from Uyo. Sources at Victor Attah International Airport told Punch that no Super Eagles player had arrived on any flight through Monday evening, even as Éric Chelle had been in the city since the early hours and assistant Daniel Ogunmodede had joined later. Tanzania's own arrival was pushed to Tuesday and then completed via Abuja, according to The Guardian Nigeria. At the point this page was filed, no Tuesday source in our set had confirmed that Nigeria's players had now landed. The visitors have a documented arrival; the home side's player landings have not been similarly confirmed.
The competitive frame is unchanged and still sharp. Tanzania are already into the 2027 tournament as co-hosts, so Friday is about the one remaining Group L ticket. Nigeria have three points and trail Guinea-Bissau on six. The last meeting, a 2-1 Super Eagles win through Semi Ajayi and Ademola Lookman at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, is the most recent data point The Guardian Nigeria cited — not a form guide for Friday, and not a result this desk is filling in ahead of time. The week now has a clock: 17:00 WAT, Friday 13 November, at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.
Why it matters
Tanzania are in Uyo, and Friday's Super Eagles qualifier now has a published kick-off of 17:00 WAT at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on 13 November 2026. Follow the Nigeria hub and the WAT kick-off times guide. Read our earlier reports on Sunday Oliseh's Super Eagles comments and Efe Sodje questioning Chelle's dual Super Eagles and under-23 role.
Sources: The Guardian Nigeria — Tanzania land in Uyo ahead of Super Eagles clash · Punch Newspapers — AFCON qualifiers: Flight schedule delays Eagles, Taifa Stars arrival · Nigeria Football Federation — Accreditation for 2027 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying Match: Nigeria Vs Tanzania · The Citizen — Taifa Stars head to Nigeria without injured Mzize, Job
