AFCON 2025
2025 AFCON Preview: Group C and D
Group C
This group has two former winners and they are the favorites to progress out of it on paper. Nigeria’s Super Eagles last won the tournament in 2013 while the Carthage Eagles did in 2004 when they hosted it. The other two teams are capable of frustrating the Super and the Carthage Eagles or even causing an upset.
Nigeria: The three-time Africa champions go into the tournament on the back of missing out on yet another World Cup. Consequently, Eric Chelle’s men are on a journey of redemption as they look to lay their hands on a fourth Africa Cup of Nations title.
Nigeria qualified top of their Group in the qualifying series as expected ahead of Libya, Benin Republic, and Rwanda.
Alex Iwobi, two former APOTY Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, and Wilfred Ndidi are some of the established and experienced superstars the Super Eagles have in their arsenal for this tournament.
The Super Eagles are expected to finish as group winners or finish joint-top with Tunisia – a very familiar foe.
Tunisia: The Carthage Eagles are one of fhs traditional teams at AFCON. The North Africans are not one of the favorites to win but can rightly fit in as one of the “dark horses.”
Tunisia are quite a solid side, very difficult to break down as they thrive on defensive discipline and quick transitions.
Former Manchester United midfielder who plays for Burnley in the Premier League, Hannibal Mejri
Naim Sliti, Elias Saad are some of the creative players in the team. The Carthage should progress into the last 16 without stress on paper but this is the AFCON, and there are no guarantees.
Tanzania: The Taifa Stars finished second behind DR Congo during the qualification series and head to the tournament after a quarter-final finish at the African Nations Championship which they co-hosted alongside Uganda and Kenya.
Tanzania might have “big players” playing in the major leagues in Europe as most of their players play in the local league and leagues across Africa.
However, they have a young and hardworking squad with players like Novatus Moroshi, Abdul Suleiman, Clement Nzize, and others.
Tanzania begins its campaign against the Super Eagles on December 23 at the Fes Stadium.
Uganda: The Cranes return to the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2019 and finished behind South Africa in the qualifying stage. The Cranes share similarities with Tanzania but they are not to be toyed with.
They also reached the last eight of the last African Nations Championship losing to Senegal.
Uganda are also a resilient side and are capable of pushing the two favorites to the limit.
Allan Okello, Melvyn Lorenzen, Stephen Mukwala, and Rodgers Mato are some of their key players as they head to the tournament.
All matches in this group will be played in Fes and Rabat.
Group D
This group can be described more or less as a mini “Animal Kingdom” as all the teams have nicknames after four wild animals: Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, and Zebra.
Senegal: The Terenga Lions are one of the favorites to win alongside Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nigeria.
Senegal have been quite consistent and they come into the tournament with confidence and an array of superstars like Al Nassr’s Sadio Mane, Bayern Munich’s Nicolas Jackson, PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye, Crystal Palace’s Ismailla Sarr, Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye among others.
The Terenga Lions should finish top of the group ahead of DR Congo whom they beat during the World Cup qualifiers.
DR Congo: The confidence of the Leopards is on a new level after beating the Super Eagles of Nigeria to clinch the sole ticket to represent Africa at the World Cup playoffs in Mexico next year.
DR Congo has arguably the most underrated set of forwards in the tournaments with Cedric Bakambu, Simon Banza, Fiston Mayele, the reigning CAF Interclub Player of the Year,
Theo Bongonda and Meschack Elia.
They have a rich blend of players playing overseas and on the continent which makes them a solid side.
The Leopards, given their quality should qualify for the second round and get to the last eight of the competition.
Benin: Gritty under coach Gernot Rohr, they excel in set pieces and nearly qualified for the World Cup, showing they can upset bigger teams just like they beat Nigeria in the World Cup qualifiers.
The Cheetahsack star power but have fight and resilience. Key players are Andréas Hountondji (St. Pauli, on loan from Burnley), Alanyaspor’s Steve Mounie, and Aiyegun Tosin of Lorient.
Benin are coached by Gernot Rohr who led the Super Eagles to a third-place finish at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. The Franco-German is very experienced with African football and is capable of pulling a surprise with the Cheetahs.
Botswana: The Zebras are probably the weakest team in the group on paper but as major underdogs who surprised in qualifiers by beating Mauritania and Cape Verde to finish behind Egypt, the Southern African nations should not be underrated.
Key players include Kabelo Seakangyeng, Thero Setsile, and Gape Mohutsiwa.
All matches in this group will be played in Tangier and Rabat.
