Ex-Portsmouth man creates history on international stage as his country end 46-year wait
The tough-tackling defender made 18 appearances for Pompey are coming through the Academy
A former Pompey player has created glorious international history - despite his side failing to win a game.
Haji Mnoga’s career is flourishing at present having been shown the door at Fratton Park in the sumer of 2024, bouncing back impressively with League Two Salford.
The 23-year-old has also been starring for Tanzania in the Africa Cup of Nations, which is currently taking place in Morocco.
Notably, the Taifa Stars had never progressed beyond the tournament’s group stage since making their debut at the 1980 event.
However, with Mnoga as a regular, they conjured up a major surprise by managing to reach the quarter-finals this term, before losing to Morocco 1-0 on Sunday.
Qualified from Group C without winning a game
Incredibly, the Tanzania history-makers did so without winning a single match in Group C, yet still qualifying for the knock-out stages courtesy of best third-place finisher.
Having lost 2-1 to Nigeria, in which Mnoga appeared as a 79th-minute substitute, the defender was handed starts in the remaining group games against Uganda and Tunisia.
Lining up at right wing-back, the Somerstown lad who made 18 appearances for Pompey, helped them to 1-1 draws on both occasions as they finished behind Nigeria and Tunisia in their group.
That earned them a quarter-final draw against host nation Morocco on Sunday, with Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz netting the winner in the 64th minute to finally break Tanzania’s resilience.
It ensured Diaz became the first Moroccan to score in four successive matches at the Afcon finals, having been top scorer during qualification with seven goals.
As for Tanzania, they have still yet to win in another of their 13 matches at the tournament, although have now finally progressed from the group stages, representing a proud moment for their country.
Having featured in all four of their Afcon matches, starting three of them, Mnoga will now return to England to strengthen Salford’s push for promotion from League Two, being presently placed fourth.
Since joining them in August 2024, the right-sided defender has amassed 57 appearances and one goal, while the club took up a 12-month option to extend his deal in the summer.
Pompey first-team debut aged 16
A youth footballer with Meon Milton, he initially triallied for Pompey’s under-9s - and was signed seven days into a scheduled six-week run out.
Mnoga progressed to make his Blues first-team debut as a 16-year-old in the Checktrade Trophy at Crawley in October 2018 under Kenny Jackett and would later also feature under Danny Cowley.
However, when the defender left the Blues in the summer of 2024 at the end of his contract, he had failed to make an appearance under John Mousinho, having spent the previous 18 months on loan at Aldershot and Gillingham.
Once an England Under-17 level, Mnoga switched international allegiances to Tanzania in March 2022, qualifying through dad Suleiman.
Mnoga senior represented Zanzibar under-17s before journeying to England to play for Arsenal and Cardiff, although didn’t progress into the first-team of either club.