The race to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is nearing its climax, with 15 out of 24 teams already securing their spots for the tournament. Hosted by Morocco, the competition will take place from December 2025 to January 2026, promising an exciting showcase of Africa’s best football talents.
On Friday, it was confirmed that defending champions Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, last year’s runners-up, have both booked their tickets to Morocco. Several teams joined them after a dramatic week of qualifying matches.
Tunisia grabbed headlines with a nail-biting 3-2 victory over Madagascar. Ali El Abdi’s last-minute header sealed Tunisia’s record 18th consecutive AFCON appearance. Gabon, meanwhile, qualified without playing after their closest rival, the Central African Republic, suffered a surprise 1-0 loss to Lesotho.
In Group K, South Africa and Uganda advanced after Congo fell 3-2 to South Sudan. Similarly, Nigeria secured their place when Libya’s earlier 1-0 win over Rwanda guaranteed the Super Eagles a top-two finish in Group D, despite their 1-1 draw with Benin later that day. Victor Osimhen’s late equalizer saved Nigeria from defeat.
Elsewhere, Ghana revived their qualification hopes as Niger handed Sudan a 4-0 defeat. However, Ghana must now win both remaining matches and hope Sudan stumbles in their final game against Angola.
Already-qualified Algeria and Equatorial Guinea battled to a goalless draw under challenging conditions in Malabo, marking Algeria’s first dropped points in the campaign.
Here’s the growing list of AFCON 2025 qualifiers:
- Morocco – Host (Automatic Qualification)
- Burkina Faso
- Côte d’Ivoire (Group G)
- Gabon (Group B)
- Uganda (Group K)
- South Africa (Group K)
- Tunisia (Group A)
- Nigeria (Group D)
- Algeria (Group E) – Table leader
- DR Congo (Group H)
- Senegal (Group L)
- Egypt (Group C)
- Angola (Group F) – Table leader
- Equatorial Guinea (Group E)
