All eyes will be right on the big one that all staunch African football fans have been waiting for, as Morocco and Senegal will be in a tug of war for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) crown tonight in Rabat.
In what will be the battle of the “Lions” between the Atlas Lions of Morocco and Senegal’s Lions of Teranga, the Afcon final inside the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium will be roaring!
The game is scheduled to get underway at 9pm (SA time).
It must also be mentioned that the stakes will be over the roof, particularly for Morocco as the host nation, desperate to deliver the trophy for the first time since 1976, when they last won the competition. The last time the Atlas Lions played in the Afcon final was in 2004, when they lost 2-1 to Tunisia.
The Lions of Teranga, on the other hand, will play in their fourth Afcon final and first since 2021 and will be desperate to help legend Sadio Mane deliver the trophy to Dakar as this is likely to be his final Afcon.
“The most important thing for me is to take the Afcon trophy to Dakar,” Mane said after beating Egypt 1-0 in their semi-final tie. Morocco edged Nigeria 4-2 on penalties.
“This will be my last Afcon final with the Lions of Teranga, so I really hope to emerge victorious and take the trophy to Dakar.”
However, achieving that feat will not be easy for Mane, as they will be going up against a Moroccan side that is led by an under-pressure coach, Walid Regragui, who will urge his troops to leave everything on the pitch and lift the trophy to silence his critics.
“In my country, when you are the coach of the national team, you must accept this [criticism]. I always do my best for my country. Sometimes you make mistakes – that’s football – but I stay focused on my team, and that’s what matters,” Regragui said.
“When you only have four defeats in three-and-a-half years, a World Cup semifinal, and now the finals of the Afcon, normally nobody should speak. But in Morocco, it’s different.”
Match Stats:
Senegal have played all their matches in Tangier up to now, while Morocco will be playing their seventh game in Rabat.
Senegal will play in their fourth Afcon final and first since 2021, while Morocco will contest their second Afcon final and first since 2004.
Morocco became the 15th host nation to reach the Afcon final.
The last three host nations to reach the final won the tournament: Tunisia in 2004, Egypt in 2006 and the Ivory Coast in 2023. The last host nation to lose in the final was Nigeria in 2000, losing on penalties to Cameroon after a 2-2 draw.
This is the ninth Afcon final between teams from West and North Africa. In the previous eight meetings, each region triumphed four times. Victory for Morocco would see host nations win back-to-back Afcon titles for the first time since 2004 and 2006, when Tunisia and Egypt were champions.
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