Can Egypt, other Arab representatives in AFCON 2025 reassert their dominance against rival African challengers

The excitement of the 2025 Arab Cup, which ended on December 18, has not yet abated. But, Arab Cup winners Morocco are already eyeing another championship. They host the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which begins on December 21.

For the hosts and the other four Arab representatives—Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Sudan—it is an opportunity to reassert north African dominance against a formidable field of west and central African challengers. A major part of this narrative is Morocco’s momentum.

The Atlas Lions enter the tournament as favourites on the back of an extended period of good form. Since being eliminated from the 2023 AFCON in January 2024, they are on a 20-game unbeaten run, excluding the African Nations Championship and the Arab Cup—tournaments in which the full-strength squad does not usually play. In those 20 games, they have scored 56 goals and conceded just four. They are ranked 11th in the world, eight places above the next best African team (Senegal).

Walid Regragui has been at the helm since 2022 and has a stable squad featuring led by Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi, arguably the world’s best right-back. Apart from the captain, there is a whole array of famous names—Yassine Bounou, Noussair Mazraoui, Sofyan Amrabat, Nayef Aguerd, Romain Saiss, Brahim Diaz, Eliesse Ben Seghir, Youssef En-Nesyri, Chemsdine Talbi and Bilal El Khannouss are particularly notable.

However, history is not in the hosts’ favour. Despite their impressive semifinal run at Qatar 2022, Morocco has not won the AFCON since their first and only title in 1976. The primary challenge this time will be managing the weight of expectations at home—nothing less than the title will do. It is a good thing then that the squad has players from Real Madrid, PSG—where similar expectations are routine—and always under-pressure Manchester United.

If Morocco are one of eight teams with a solitary AFCON title, one of the other Arab teams in the fray—Egypt—are the most successful nation in the competition's history with seven titles, including as the United Arab Republic. However, when Egypt won their most recent AFCON in 2010, talisman Mohamed Salah was a 17-year-old at the youth academy of Al-Mokawloon (on the verge of exploding into a serious prospect in senior football). So, the winger, who will go down as an all-time great has not won a trophy with his national team. After two heart-breaks in AFCON finals (2017 and 2022), this is almost certainly the 33-year-old’s last chance at lifting silverware for his country. 

But, things do not look too optimistic for the captain. The Egypt squad is reliant on a core of domestic players supplemented by the Europe-based stars. This time, the star line-up is impressive enough, with Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush and Nantes’s Mostafa Mohamed joining Salah. But, the core may not be strong enough. The poor showing of the second-string team in the Arab Cup was worrying—they got dumped out in the group stage without a win. If that was a symptom of stagnation in Egyptian football, the AFCON squad may also be affected by it. But, fans can take heart from the fact that none of those players are part of the first-choice squad for the AFCON. Still Egypt, ranked 34^th—the third highest ranked African team—lacks the defensive stability of Morocco. Though their tournament experience is expected to get them through Group B, consisting of South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe, their tactical rigidity could be a problem against high-intensity styles later in the tournament.

Algeria and Tunisia, ranked 35^th and 40^th, respectively (fourth and sixth in Africa) are seeking redemption after disappointments in 2023—both finished win-less and last in their groups. 

Algeria, 2019 AFCON champions, have focused on defensive stability since Bosnian head coach Vladimir Petković took charge in 2024. In the attack, the dynamic Amine Gouiri is out with a shoulder injury; so captain and talisman Riyad Mahrez, 34, will have to shoulder most of the responsibility. Algeria may be in for a tough test against Burkina Faso in Group E and must any avoid slip-ups against Sudan and Equatorial Guinea. 

Unlike the three teams mentioned above, Tunisia lack a global superstar. Their most famous name is former Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri. But, the 22-year-old midfielder has not really been a standout in the Premier League this season for his current club Burnley. But, even if their is no individual brilliance, Tunisia has the discipline and organisation to be tricky opponents in the knockout stages. But, the Carthage Eagles face a challenging third match in their group stage against the Super Eagles, 38^th-ranked Nigeria (fifth in Africa). So, Tunisia will have to get results in the first two matches against Uganda and Tanzania to ensure safe passage through to the knockout rounds. 

Sudan, ranked 118^th, is the only Arab team that is not expected to get through the first round. But, as mentioned above, they could make life difficult for Algeria. 

The primary obstacles to an Arab victory will come from Senegal, Nigeria and Ivory Coast (rank 42; seventh in Africa). Though Ivory Coast is ranked lower than four of the five Arab teams, they could end up being the toughest challenge for them—even Morocco. The Elephants come in to the tournament as defending champions and has a squad driven by directness and physicality. They excel in transition and the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Amad Diallo can both dribble past multiple opponents. 

Nigeria possess the most potent individual attacker in the tournament (especially in light of Salah’s patchy form and Amad’s relative inexperience)—Victor Osimhen. Nigeria’s prospects will depend on how well their midfield can provide service to Osimhen. Senegal, the 2021 champions, remain a significant threat. Led by Sadio Mané, 33, the squad is well settled, with experience in high-pressure matches. That makes them, too, highly capable of disrupting Morocco’s dreams.