The Africa Cup of Nations reaches its climax on Sunday with a showdown between the continent’s two leading football powers, as hosts Morocco look to win the title for the first time in 50 years when they take on Sadio Mane’s Senegal.
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The match starts at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, where almost the entire crowd of 69,000 spectators will support a Moroccan team led by African player of the year Achraf Hakimi.
The first ever AFCON to start in a year and end in another could be the second in a row won by the host nation, with the Atlas Lions aiming to follow in the footsteps of Ivory Coast, who were crowned champions in front of their home fans in Abidjan in 2024.
Walid Regragui’s Morocco has established itself as Africa’s leading national team in recent years. It became the first from the continent to reach a World Cup semi-final in 2022 and climbed to 11th in the world rankings, just above Italy.
However, the AFCON has been underperforming for a long time, with its only title to date coming in 1976. This will be the first final since 2004, when the team lost to Tunisia and Regragui was a player in that team.
Senegal, meanwhile, are in their third final in four editions and aiming for a second title after winning in 2022, when Mane scored the decisive penalty in a shoot-out win over Egypt in Yaounde.
“We dreamed of being here, and now we did it,” Regragui told reporters in the Moroccan capital on Saturday.
He was under suffocating pressure to win the title for the football-mad country, and might not have kept his job until the looming World Cup in North America if he hadn’t at least taken the team that far.
“I hope this is just the beginning and not our last AFCON final,” he added.
Morocco coach Walid Regragui was under suffocating pressure to win the title for the football-mad country, and might not have kept his job until the looming World Cup in North America if he had not at least taken the team this far. | Photo credit: REUTERS
Morocco coach Walid Regragui was under suffocating pressure to win the title for the football-mad country, and might not have kept his job until the looming World Cup in North America if he had not at least taken the team this far. | Photo credit: REUTERS
«Big football countries want to be there regularly. Tomorrow (Sunday) we want to try to write history. Senegal will have to be very strong to beat us at home, even if they are capable of doing so.»
Morocco’s success over the past four weeks has been built on the attacking inspiration of Real Madrid winger Brahim Diaz, the tournament’s top scorer with five goals, and on a defense that has conceded just once – and that was a penalty in a group stage draw against Mali.
Security issues
Being at home brings extra pressure, but can also be a great advantage. Senegal have complained about the conditions in which they were welcomed in Rabat ahead of the match.
The Lions of Teranga were based in the northern port city of Tangier for the duration of the tournament before arriving in Rabat by train on Friday.
The Senegalese Football Federation complained in a statement of «serious concerns», including a «lack of adequate security» for the team’s arrival, putting the players and staff at risk.»
Complaints were also made about the hotel offered to the delegation, the fact that they were given fewer than 3,000 tickets for their supporters for the final, and the fact that they were offered a training ground at the Moroccan team’s base in nearby Sale.
“What happened was not normal,” said Senegal coach Pape Thiaw.
«Given the number there, anything could have happened. My players could have been in danger. Things like that should not happen between two brotherly countries.»
Pape Thiaw, who won the Africa Nations Championship with Senegal A in 2022, will try to guide the Teranga Lions to the Africa Cup of Nations title four years later. | Photo credit: REUTERS
Pape Thiaw, who won the Africa Nations Championship with Senegal A in 2022, will try to guide the Teranga Lions to the Africa Cup of Nations title four years later. | Photo credit: REUTERS
Senegalese star Mane, a two-time winner of the African Player of the Year award, said after scoring the winner in the semi-final against Egypt that Sunday’s match would be his last ever AFCON appearance.
Remarkably, Thiaw insisted on the eve of the match that the former Liverpool striker may have no choice but to reconsider that decision.
“I think he made his decision in the heat of the moment, and the country doesn’t agree with that, and I, as coach of the national team, don’t agree with that,” Thiaw said.
“We would like to keep him as long as possible,” said the coach, who is without central defender and captain Kalidou Koulibaly due to suspension.
Published on January 18, 2026
