AFCON 2025 power rankings, featuring Morocco and top 9 other favourites
Who are the favourites to win the 35th edition of the African Cup of Nations, kicking off in Morocco this month? From the West to the North, we take a look at the top 10 nations with the best shot at glory in AFCON 2025.
The odds are already stacked heading into Africa’s biggest football event, and with some historical statistics backing some campaigns, others will be keen to rewrite the narratives. Nevertheless, 2025 has been some year for CAF teams, with a new format of World Cup qualifiers keeping them engaged all year.
The latest update of the AFCON becoming a quadrennial showpiece will leave a lot of nations desperate to take this one before they’ll have to wait for one every four years, especially the age of some top stars like Mohamed Salah, who have never tested AFCON glory and already in their 30s.
From the poor luck of defending champions that started in 2012, when Egypt, who had won the previous three editions fail to qualify at all. Since then, all following seven fending champions have also failed to reach the quarter-finals, with 2013 winner Nigeria, also failing to qualify for the following edition.
For Morocco 2025, the host, and their North African brothers are huge favourites, and it’ll be shocking if the title did not go to one of them. Nevertheless, other regions will also fancy their chances in what would be a hostile atmosphere.
Here are our ranking of the top 10 favourites for glory in AFCON 2025…
Morocco and the 10 favourites for AFCON 2025
10. The Eagles of Mali
After their quarter-final exit at the hands of the host and eventual champions in the last edition, Mali have lost just two of their 14 competitive games. Even though they missed out on the World Cup, their form is encouraging enough to surprise the higher-ranked teams.
So far, the Eagles remain one of the regular nations in the African Cup of Nations, with 13 previous tournament outings before Morocco 2025, although they have yet to emerge as winners. Their only final appearance, in 1972, ended in defeat to Congo.
Mali have reached the AFCON semi-finals on six occasions, which is almost half the times they’ve played in the championship, and they could be set to deliver another remarkable run in Morocco.
9. Bafana Bafana of South Africa
Won third place in the last edition after losing a fiercely contested semi-final with the Super Eagles of Nigeria, South Africa will hope to create another special memory ahead of their return to the World Cup since hosting it in 2010.
Bafana Bafana, despite technical errors, which saw them docked three points, managed to secure a direct World Cup ticket in a group with Nigeria and Benin, a difficult group that will give them the needed willpower in another tough group in Morocco 2025.
Hugo Broos’s team has been drawn in Group B, alongside Egypt, Zambia, and Angola, but the good news is that their opening game against Angola gives them the chance to start well, and then build on from there.
Goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who won best goalkeeper in the last edition, remains vital to the setup, while Teboho Mokoena, Oswin Appollis, and Khuliso Mudau are experienced outfield players, whom they’ll look up to as they look for their second title, almost three decades after their only success in 1996.
8. Leopards of DR Congo
Leopards are a much-improved team, especially with the addition of new players after the switch of international allegiances, a movement that has now placed them in an intercontinental playoff away from reaching their first World Cup as DR Congo.
Under Sebastien Desabre, the team has evolved, and even finished fourth in the last edition of the African Cup of Nations, losing to the Ivory Coast in the semi-finals before their penalty shootout loss to South Africa in the third-place playoff match.
Their World Cup qualifiers run, especially in the group stages, where they gave Senegal a run for their money, could inspire them to reach bigger heights, with newfound belief that saw them past Nigeria’s Super Eagles in the final of the CAF World Cup qualifiers playoff.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Arthur Masuaku, Axel Taunzebe, Edo Kayembe, Noah Sadiki, and Cedric Bakambu are players with a wealth of experience in top European leagues, while Fiston Mayele is one of the best African-based stars.
7. Super Eagles of Nigeria
Very unpredictable, but the Super Eagles have been one of the most consistent National Teams in the history of the African Cup of Nations, with eight final appearances, although five have ended in defeats.
This time, pressure weigh heavier than expectations, after the team failed to secure qualification for the World Cup, and are set to miss back-to-back editions for the first time since their debut tournament appearance in 1994.
With two recent CAF Men’s Player of the Year winners in the ranks, Nigerians will hope their flag bearers make up for recent shortcomings, and for a nation that lost in the final of the last edition, there is no better way of making up than winning the championship.
Tanzania, Tunisia, and Uganda await them in group C. Eric Chelle will hope for better control and finishing from his players when he leads them to his first tournament outing as the manager in Morocco 2025.
6. Desert Warriors of Algeria
Having secured their place in next summer’s FIFA World Cup in a comfortable qualifying campaign, Algeria turns its attention to the African Cup of Nations, a tournament it’s won twice, including more recently in 2019.
Algeria has been unable to go past the group stages since conquering Africa over six years ago, and the pressure of responsibility weighs heavily this time around, especially after being placed in a fairly tough group.
As expected, Riyad Mahrez headlines their squad, but at 34, the former Manchester City man, who now plays for Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League, does not have as much swagger as he had in the past, and plenty of others would need to rise to the occasion to ensure they succeed.
One of their most in-form players is Mohamed Amoura, the Wolfsburg striker who has already been directly involved in eight goals for his club, and scored 10 goals plus four assists in 10 matches of the World Cup qualifiers.
Playing the trio of Sudan, Burkina Faso, and Equatorial Guinea in the group stages will help them get acquainted with the tough knockout stages, and will also determine if they do have what it takes to become champions again.
5. Carthage Eagles of Tunisia
Tunisia became the first African country to secure its ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and that achievement alone speaks volumes about the team’s determination at a very important period of the year.
Despite changing managers during the qualifiers, the one-time African champions never lost a game, won nine of 10, and picked up more points than any other team, doing all this without conceding a goal.
Sami Trabelsi’s charges have made themselves one of the teams to beat in the Morocco 2025 African Cup of Nations, and this may be their biggest chance to add to the success recorded on home soil, just over a decade ago in 2004.
4. Elephants of the Ivory Coast
The absence of Nicolas Pepe will be felt as he is one of the country’s most dangerous attackers so far in Europe’s top five leagues this season, but the decision has been made, and it is time for Emerse Fae to deliver with his choices.
A host of decisive players from their success on home soil almost two years ago will miss out in Morocco 2025 due to retirement and dropped form, but a new look team can also make the fans dream, especially given the context of their triumph last time.
Nevertheless, they retained some impressive stars like Sebastien Haller, Ibrahim Sangare, Franck Kessie, Seko Fofana, while the inclusion of Amad Diallo, and Wilfred Zaha will make up for the absence of Simon Adingra and Pepe.
They are yet to pick up the ball from their net in six competitive games in 2025, and will be out to break the curse that has seen the last eight defending champions of the AFCON failed to make it to the quarter-finals.
Ivory Coast, who also had an unbeaten CAF World Cup qualifying campaign, are one of the teams to watch out for, because they head into the tournament not only as the defending champions, but as a team on form, and are one of the favourites.
3. Pharaohs of Egypt
Egypt did not become the record champions of the African Cup of Nations by winning eight titles without their aura of dominance, and that is a sign they have begun showing again, in the months leading to Morocco 2025.
Their pre-AFCON form has been nothing but sensational. The Pharaohs did not lose a game of the 10 played in the CAF World Cup qualifiers, winning eight, scoring 20 goals, and conceding just twice.
The team will also hope that Mohamed Salah is over his Liverpool ordeal because if in form, the winger is capable of leading them to the title, especially now that he has a reason to be more inspired due to the harsh ‘what has he won for Egypt’ comment of Jamie Carragher.
After following up three consecutive championships with as many consecutive absences between 2006 and 2015, Egypt have been runner-ups in two of the last five editions, making this their longest drought without winning the AFCON after 1962 to 1984.
Not only Mohamed Salah but also the likes of Hamdi Fathi, Zizou, and goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy will help continue the dynasty of a nation heavily reliant on home-based stars.
2. Teranga Lions of Senegal
Pape Thiaw’s team is in a very scary form ahead of the tournament, having recovered from a slow start to the World Cup qualifiers, and winning their final four group games, including a very tough and decisive one away to DR Congo to secure their ticket.
Senegal has been at the top of their game since the appointment of Aliou Cisse in 2015, which coincided with the emergence of the best squad it has put together since the start of the 21st century.
Their consistency saw them reach two of the last three AFCON finals, and almost five years ago, they were crowned champions for the first time ever, when they defeated Egypt in the final of the 33rd edition in Yaounde, Cameroon.
In the form of their current stars like Sadio Mané, Pape Sarr, Iliman Ndiaye, Lamine Camara, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, Idrissa Gueye, Nicolas Jackson, and the others, it’ll be difficult for anyone to get past the Teranga Lions.
1. Atlas Lions of Morocco
Morocco is writing a new footballing story and winning the African Cup of Nations for the second time; the first time since 1976 will be the icing on the cake of what has been a remarkable couple of years for the country.
From improved sporting facilities that make them the country of choice to several tournaments, including an accepted bid to jointly host the FIFA World Cup in 2030, to historical runs in youth and senior tournaments.
From becoming the first African team to watch World Cup semi-finals back in Qatar 2022, their Women’s team also reached the final of WAFCON, their U20 team became world champions this year, and just this month they won the FIFA Arab Cup.
Recently, their U17 team reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup, where they were eliminated by Brazil, and this senior national team qualified for the World Cup with a perfect record, winning all eight group games in the qualifying campaign.
It is an auspicious time in the club’s history, and boosted by the recent coronation of Achraf Hakimi as CAF Men’s Player of the Year, the Atlas Lions will hope to finally end their half-century wait for an AFCON title.
Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
