Africa’s biggest football competition is reaching fever pitch with only 8 countries out of 24 countries still standing in the competition. The 2025 AFCON is the 35th edition of the tournament and it is the second time that Morocco are hosts of the competition. The last time the country hosted the tournament was in 1988. This AFCON could not have come at better time for the nine African countries that are competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The 2025 AFCON gave these teams the space to gain squad depth and work on confidence for the Football World Cup.
Groups in the AFCON.
The 24 teams that started in the AFCON were placed in 6 different groups of four teams each. The first match between Morocco and Comoros was played on the 21st of December.
The Groups are made up of the following teams.
Group A - Morocco (host), Mali, Zambia and Comoros.
Group B - Egypt, South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe.
Group C - Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania.
Group D - Senegal, DR Congo, Benin and Botswana.
Group E - Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan.
Group F - Defending champions Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Gabon and Mozambique.
The battle to be crowned the best football nation in Africa sees some of the biggest football playing nations in Africa compete in the semis. Many of the teams that have qualified for the Football World Cup have brought the momentum from the qualifiers into the tournament. You can find more about the odds of the AFCON quarter finals and bet on sports at Sportingbet.
The AFCON quarter final results.
The first match quarter final was on Friday when Mali will took on on Senegal. Mali crept through the group stage round by drawing every match. The team continued this streak and drew their Round of 16 match, going through to the quarters on penalties. Senegal won the match 1-0 securing their place in the semi finals.
Morocco versus Cameroon was the second quarter final match. Morocco was the favourite coming into the match. They qualified for the FWC 2026 plus they have the home ground advantage on their side. Morocco won the match 2-0 after the final whistle sending them into the semis.
Nigeria took on Algeria in the first of the last two quarter final matches taking place on Saturday. The Super Eagles is a team that needs no introduction having won the cup three times and being the runners up in the 2023 AFCON. Not qualifying for the Football World Cup did not seem to affect the team in their AFCON run so far. In fact it has done the opposite with Nigeria winning their quarter final match 2-0.
The last quarter final on Saturday was between Ivory Coast and Egypt. Côte d’Ivoire are the current title holders but the Pharaohs with international football stars such as Mo Salah and Omar Marmoush were too strong on night. Egypt won the match 3-2 securing their place in the semi finals.
The semi finals of the AFCON will be played on Wednesday the 14th of January.
The first semi final match sees Senegal take on Egypt on Wednesday, kickoff is at 19:00.
The second semi final is on at 22:00 between Nigeria and Morocco.
The final of the AFCON takes place on the 18th of January 2026 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
