Group D: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana
Senegal
Manager: Pape Thiaw
World Ranking: 19
Best AFCON Result: Champions (2021)
Premiership players called up: El Hadji Malick Diouf (West Ham), Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Iliman Ndiaye (Everton), Pape Sarr (Tottenham), Habi Diarra (Sunderland), Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace)
Senegal enter the AFCON as the second-highest seeded side in the tournament, behind hosts Morocco. Despite some of the stars we have seen representing the nation over the years, they have only been crowned champions of Africa once, just a few years ago. After three Semi-Final defeats down the years and two runners-up finishes back in 2002 and 2019, Kalidou Kouliabaly lifted the famous trophy in Cameroon following a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Egypt.
The 2023 edition started brightly for the holders, as the only team to win all three of their group games. Wins against Gambia, Cameroon and Guinea sent them into the knockout stages full of confidence. However, a game against the out-of-sorts hosts Ivory Coast, ended in penalty heartbreak after conceding a late equaliser in normal time. This also sparked the end of Aliou Cisse's successful nine-year reign in charge of the team.
Senegal qualified for the upcoming edition convincingly, winning five of their six group games, including a win against Burkina Faso. New manager Pape Thiaw had previously coached the Senegal 'A' team, a side made solely of domestic-based players. After taking charge, his first job was to guide the 'Lions of Teranga' into a third successive World Cup. And so he did. A 3-2 win away to DR Congo saw them take top spot ahead of their opponents, in an unbeaten campaign. His record this calendar year has been good, losing one of 10 games, which came in a friendly defeat to Brazil. They recently beat Kenya 8-0, as well as a 3-1 win over England back in June.
DR Congo
Manager: Sebastien Desabre
World Ranking: 56
Best AFCON Result: x2 champions (1968, 1974)
Premiership players called up: Arthur Masuaku (Sunderland), Noah Sadiki (Sunderland), Axel Tuanzebe (Burnley), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham)
The central African nation will aim for a deep run at the AFCON to cap off a year which also left them on the brink of a 2026 World Cup spot.
DR Congo have won the tournament twice before, albeit firstly under the name Congo-Kinshasa back in 1968, then as Zaire in 1974. Since 1998, under their current namesake, they have fallen at the semi-final stage on three occasions, most recently at the previous edition in 2023. 'The Leopards' made it to the final four despite winning just one game over 90 minutes. drew all three of their group stage games against Zambia, Tanzania and Morocco, before eliminating Egypt on penalties in the last 16. A 3-1 quarter-final success over Guinea set up a semi-final clash with the Ivory Coast, where they suffered a 1-0 defeat.
Sebastien Desabre's team secured their 2025 AFCON spot fairly quickly in the qualifiers, winning all four of their opening games in a group involving Tanzania, Guinea and Ethiopia. Despite losing their final two games, one of which at home to Ethiopia, qualification was secured. An expanded World Cup allowed DR Congo to take advantage of the extra spots, as a nation that usually falls just short. Winning seven of their 10 games meant they fell just short of finishing above Senegal, although they did make a play-off spot.
A 1-0 win over Cameroon, followed by penalty success over Nigeria, booked a spot in the inter-continental play-offs. Either Jamaica or New Caledonia stand in the way of a 50-year wait to reach another World Cup. They meet Senegal again in this group stage, playing Pape Thiaw's team in matchday two.
Benin
Manager: Gernot Rohr
World Ranking: 92
Best AFCON Result: Quarter Finals (2019)
Premiership players called up: None
Benin's appearance in Morocco will be their fifth edition, having failed to qualify since their run to the last eight back in 2019.
Draws against Ghana and Cameroon preceded eliminating Morocco in the last 16; however, three wins in 12 qualifying matches for the tournament since has meant the quarter-final loss to Senegal in 2019 was to be their last AFCON game. They qualified for 2025 courtesy of goal-difference over Rwanda, as runners-up in Group D. Draws in their final two games against Nigeria and Libya just about got them over the line.
Current manager Gernot Rohr may be a familiar name to those with a keen interest in African football; the German previously coached Nigeria between 2016 and 2021. He took over the Benin role in 2023, since winning eight of his 28 games in charge. The team were in the mix to reach the World Cup finals in a dramatic finale in qualifying alongside South Africa and Nigeria. Five wins in nine games left Rohr's side just a positive result away from at least a playoff spot. However, a 4-0 loss away in Nigeria meant they finished in 3rd, and therefore were eliminated. The only game since then was a 3-0 friendly defeat to Burkina Faso last month.
Botswana
Manager: Morena Ramoreboli
World Ranking: 138
Best AFCON Result: Group stage (2012)
Premiership players called up: None
Botswana enter the AFCON as overwhelming underdogs, as the lowest-ranked team in what will be just their second appearance at the tournament.
As debutants in 2012, 'The Zebras' lost all three of their group games, conceding nine goals in the process, including a heavy 6-1 defeat to Guinea. One of the last sides to book their place at the 2025 party, Botswana edged Mauritius into second spot behind Egypt. They also finished above a Cape Verde side, who failed to qualify for AFCON despite booking a debut spot at the 2026 World Cup shortly after. Botswana beat Cape Verde both home and away to help secure their spot.
With a squad largely made up of domestic-based players, current manager Morena Ramoreboli took charge at the start of the year, replacing Didier Gomes Da Rosa, the man who had led the nation to qualification. Da Rosa stepped down at the end of 2024, citing a lack of support from the FA.
Ramoreboli was previously the South Africa caretaker manager. The South African has won one of his first eight games, coming against a winless Somalia side in World Cup Qualifying. The campaign saw them finish 5th in their six-team group, winning three games. Algeria, Uganda, Mozambique and Guinea had all pulled clear above them. They were also eliminated by Comoros in the summer COSAFA cup group stage, a tournament for teams in Southern Africa.
Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan
Algeria
Manager: Vladimir Petkovic
World Ranking: 35
Best AFCON Result: 2x champions (1990, 2019)
Premiership players called up: Rayan Ait-Nouri (Man City)
The last time Algeria played an AFCON tournament in northern Africa, they left as champions.
The 2019 tournament concluded with the team lifting the trophy in Egypt, after a 1-0 win over Senegal in Cairo. Since that victory, it has not been a happy time for Algeria. 'The Greens' have been eliminated from the group stages in both 2021 and 2023, the only time they have suffered this fate in back-to-back AFCON tournaments. And they failed to win a single game in either.
Added to that their failure to reach the 2022 World Cup, 2023 signaled the beginning of the end for previous manager Djamel Belmadi. Finishing winless and bottom of a group including Angola, Burkina Faso and Mauritania saw his five-year tenure come to an end. Bosnian manager Vladimir Petkovic, formerly the Switzerland coach, took the job last year. The former Lazio and Bordeaux coach has since guided the nation to the upcoming AFCON, as well as confirming their 2026 World Cup spot.
As well as topping their AFCON qualifying group unbeaten, Algeria breezed through World Cup qualifying, with eight wins from 10, recovering after losing their opener at home to Guinea. One defeat this calendar year came in a narrow 4-3 friendly defeat to Sweden back in March, with eight wins, including most recently against Saudi Arabia last month.
Burkina Faso
Manager: Brama Traore
World Ranking: 62
Best AFCON Result: Runners up (2013)
Premiership players called up: Bertrand Traore (Sunderland), Dango Ouattara (Brentford)
An improving Burkina Faso side are aiming reach at least the knockout stages of the tournament, for a record third successive AFCON.
After failing to even qualify in 2019 and a semi-final loss to Senegal back in 2021, Burkina Faso were eliminated from the 2023 edition at the last 16 stage. A 3-1 defeat to Mali followed an underwhelming group stage, in which they lost to Angola and drew with Mauritius.
Their ticket to Morocco was booked in a relatively straightforward manner, seeing off both Burundi and Malawi in Group L. A double header with group winners Senegal ended with one point, while Brama Traore's men lost the final game 3-0 to Malawi.
Traore, no relation to captain Bertrand Traore, took charge almost two years ago, intending to achieve both AFCON and World Cup qualification. Their quest to reach a first World Cup hit a bump immediately, with one win in their opening four games, including a defeat to Egypt and a draw with Sierra Leone. Five wins from six games catapulted them into second, although the damage had already been dealt in their chase for a playoff spot, thereby missing out.
Seven wins from nine this calendar year, with the sole defeat against Tunisia back in June. Recent friendly wins last month over Niger and Benin, scoring six goals, will give the squad confidence ahead of their opener against Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea
Manager: Juan Micha
World Ranking: 97
Best AFCON Result: Semi-finals (2015)
Premiership players called up: None
Equatorial Guinea will play at a third successive AFCON this month, the best run in the history of the national team.
After famously reaching the semi-finals as hosts of the 2015 edition, the country failed to qualify for both the 2017 and 2019 tournaments. The most recent AFCON ended with a defeat in the last 16 after a promising group stage, in which they finished above Nigeria to top the group, as well as hosts Ivory Coast, whom they beat 4-0. Despite this, the campaign ended at the next step, losing 1-0 to Guinea. Captain Emiliano Nsue, who will play in Morocco, was the top scorer with five goals.
Back-to-back wins against Liberia helped them to qualify for 2025, ensuring they also finished in second place above Togo. Their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign was shrouded by problems. Despite winning their opening two games, they inevitably suffered defeats due to an ineligible player being fielded. They also forfeited a game 3-0 against Malawi after the squad refused to travel to the opposition country in protest at the treatment of the team from their own association.
Those three results alone ended their chances, with the second seeds finishing fifth in the group, having won two games. This calendar year has proved to be tricky, winning three of 10 games. Two of those wins came against lowly Sao Tome in WCQ, while they also beat Kenya in a friendly last month, a few days before a defeat to Madagascar.
Sudan
Manager: James Appiah
World Ranking: 118
Best AFCON Result: Champions (1970)
Premiership players called up: None
Despite an ongoing civil war in the country that has relocated the nation's top clubs, Sudan have managed to qualify for their first AFCON in four years.
Since famously lifting the trophy in 1970, the team have won just one of 16 games played at the tournament; the sole win came back in 2012 on a run to the last eight. The most recent appearance back in 2021 ended in elimination, after defeats against Nigeria and Egypt in a difficult-looking group.
Qualification to Morocco was sealed as runners-up of group F, a battle that included a hopeless Ghana side, who finished bottom. Sudan finished four points ahead of the Black Stars, wrapping up second spot with a win against Niger. Led by former Ghana player and manager James Appiah, the nation's AFCON squad includes 15 members who play for either Al Hilal or Al Merreikh, the country's two most successful clubs. While the Sudanese top flight has been halted due to the war, the two clubs play in the Rwandan league instead, allowing them to continue playing continental football. They also played out their 2024/25 campaign in the Mauritian league.
A strong start to the 2026 World Cup qualifying raised hopes the squad could pull off the unlikeliest of qualifications, winning four of their first five games, including victory over DR Congo and a draw with Senegal. However, the campaign faded away, failing to win any of their remaining five matches, including a loss to Togo. They ended up in third, nine points behind the top two. Three morale-boosting wins this calendar year came in friendly matches, beating Zambia, Central African Republic, plus Lebanon in the recent FIFA Arab Cup.
Group F: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique
Ivory Coast
Manager: Emerse Fae
World Ranking: 42
Best AFCON Result: 3x champions (1992, 2015, 2023)
Premiership players called up: Willy Boly (Nottingham Forest), Ibrahim Sangare (Nottingham Forest), Emmanuel Agbadou (Wolves), Evann Guessand (Aston Villa), Amad Diallo (Manchester United)
The current champions of Africa head to Morocco hoping to overcome the curse of previous AFCON winners.
Of the last seven winners, none of them have got beyond the round of 16 stage at the next edition. Three of those were eliminated in the group stage, and a further two failed to even qualify for the next tournament. Egypt’s treble of wins between 2006 and 2010 was the last time we saw successive champions.
Flaunting their famous orange kit, the last time Ivory Coast had to defend their title ended with a group stage exit after failing to win a game. Despite hosting in 2023, the victory was one of the most unexpected wins in AFCON history. After losing 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea and edging through to the round of 16 by the skin of their teeth in third place, they sacked their manager mid-tournament. Jean-Louis Gasset was replaced by his assistant Emerse Fae.
Ivory Coast then saw off Senegal, Mali, DR Congo and Nigeria to win the tournament against all odds. Still under Fae, the side qualified for 2025 in second place behind Zambia, after a defeat to the southern African team, plus an away loss to Sierra Leone.
More recently, they secured their place at the 2026 World Cup with an unbeaten campaign. Wins over Gabon, Gambia, Kenya, Burundi and Seychelles, all without conceding a single goal, meant a first finals appearance since 2014 in Brazil. They have suffered defeats in friendlies this year against New Zealand and Saudi Arabia.
Cameroon
Manager: David Pagou
World Ranking: 57
Best AFCON Result: 5x champions (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2017)
Premiership players called up: Carlos Baleba (Brighton), Bryan Mbuemo (Man United)
You'll do well to find any nation with a more chaotic run-up to a major tournament than Cameroon.
FIFA have announced that David Pagou will lead the team in Morocco, following two squad lists submitted by two different managers. David Pagou, an experienced manager with several domestic clubs, was appointed by Cameroonian FA president Samuel Eto'o earlier this month. He replaced previous manager Marc Brys, who was dismissed shortly before by Eto'o, after just over a year in the role. Brys, however, who was hired by the sports minister and not the FA, believed he was still in charge as he had no 'formal or written' confirmation he had been replaced, only via reports. As a result, both managers submitted their squads last week, believing both would be in charge at the upcoming tournament.
Pagou is ready to go and avenge the round of 16 elimination back in 2023. After finishing second in their group on goals scored, Cameroon fell to Nigeria at the first hurdle in the knockout rounds. Qualification for 2025 was straightforward under Brys, going unbeaten in a group containing Zimbabwe and Kenya. It was the failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup that caused Eto'o to pull the trigger.
Dropping points against the likes of Eswatini and Angola meant the team finished behind Cape Verde, although they headed into the playoffs. A 1-0 semi-final defeat to DR Congo meant failure to qualify for the World Cup for the second time in three editions.
Gabon
Manager: Thierry Mouyouma
World Ranking: 78
Best AFCON Result: Quarter finals (1996, 2012)
Premiership players called up: None
After missing out in 2023, 'The Panthers' reach AFCON for a ninth time.
With five group stage exits in their previous eight editions, the side from central Africa managed to get into the knockout stages at their last appearance, back in Cameroon in 2021. A dramatic 7-6 penalty shootout defeat to Burkina Faso prevented a quarter-final tie with Tunisia, although the nation has not lost an AFCON game over 90 minutes since 2015, spanning back seven games. Despite two heavy defeats to Morocco in qualifying, second place was comfortably secured with positive results against both Lesotho and Central African Republic. This set up a World Cup qualifying campaign that almost ended in a first-time finals appearance, reaching the playoffs after winning eight of their 10 games.
They narrowly finished behind Ivory Coast, who they will face in the group stages again at the upcoming edition. They concluded the first round as the best performing runners-up, although their hopes blew up in the space of 30 minutes, conceding three goals in extra-time against Nigeria in their play-off semi-final.
Mozambique
Manager: Chiquinho Conde
World Ranking: 102
Best AFCON Result: x5 group stages (1986, 1996, 1998, 2010, 2023)
Premiership players called up: Reinaldo (Sunderland)
One of four nations in Africa to have never won a game having played at AFCON, Mozambique will be hoping 2025 provides them joy, albeit in a tricky group.
15 previous games have yielded four draws and 11 defeats. The most recent edition in 2023 saw them finish with two points, their highest AFCON tally, after drawing with both African giants Egypt and Ghana.
They were the 24th and final team to book their spot in Morocco, after a dramatic 2-1 win at Guinea-Bissau, in a final-day shootout for second spot. They also drew with Mali earlier in the qualifiers. Manager Chiquinho Conde, who has both played and coached at an AFCON for the nation, saw his side miss out on a World Cup spot, with a third-place finish in qualifying. Six wins and four defeats left them behind Uganda on goal difference.
They kick off against the holders Ivory Coast, having won four of their 12 matches this calendar year. Following a narrow 1-0 win in Somalia, three friendly matches have ended with no wins, following defeats to Morocco and Angola, plus a draw with Chad.
