Why isn’t Achraf Hakimi playing in the AFCON 2025 opener between Morocco and Comoros?

Host nation Morocco meets Comoros to kick off the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on Sunday.

Star fullback Achraf Hakimi was named to the bench by head coach Walid Regragui.

Captain Hakimi was deemed fit and ready for the AFCON by Regragui. However, the coach revealed that the defender will not be allowed to start in the opening match of the tournament.

Paris Saint-Germain right-back Hakimi, the African player of the year, has not played since dropping out of the Champions League match against Bayern Munich on November 4 with a left ankle injury.

The 27-year-old left the field in tears that evening, clearly fearful for his chances of competing in the Cup of Nations. The injury was later diagnosed as a severe sprain.

«I feel good. I am following the program given to me by the medical staff and the coach,» Hakimi, who also finished sixth in the Ballon d’Or rankings this year, said on Saturday.

Morocco will also face Mali and Zambia in Group A as they look to win their first Cup of Nations since 1976.

Published on December 21, 2025