Nigeria, Egypt or Senegal: Who can spoil Morocco’s AFCON 2025 party?

The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has reached the semifinal stage, and a tourney devoid of shocks present offers 2 mouthwatering ties with hosts Morocco looking to spot disconnected the challenges of their chap continental heavyweights.

Mohamed Salah’s Egypt, Victor Osimhen’s Nigeria and Sadio Mane’s Senegal stay successful contention to triumph the trophy successful Rabat connected Sunday, adjacent if location vantage makes Morocco favourites.

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World Cup semifinalists successful 2022, Morocco are Africa’s top-ranked squad and attack Wednesday’s semifinal against Nigeria successful the superior defending an unbeaten grounds since losing to South Africa astatine the past AFCON.

Walid Regragui’s broadside person conceded conscionable 1 extremity successful 5 matches here, and doubts astir their quality to grip the tremendous unit of playing astatine location were blown distant with their show successful beating Cameroon 2-0 successful the quarterfinals.

Regragui urged his squad to transportation connected with their momentum aft their “historic” accomplishment of reaching the quarterfinals.

“We request to conscionable support going 1 crippled astatine a time. We person not done thing yet,” Regragui insisted aft the quarterfinal win.

Captain and existent African Player of the Year Achraf Hakimi is acceptable again aft injury, and successful Real Madrid winger Brahim Diaz, scorer of 5 goals successful 5 games, they person astir apt the tournament’s outstanding player.

“He tin go the champion subordinate successful the satellite if helium wants to,” remarked Regragui aft the Cameroon game.

Regragui has angrily rejected suggestions his squad is benefitting from favourable refereeing decisions arsenic the hosts.

“We’re the squad to beat. As the squad to beat, radical volition effort to find each sorts of reasons to accidental Morocco has an advantage,” Regragui said aft his team’s triumph implicit Cameroon.

“The lone vantage that Morocco has astatine this Africa Cup is playing successful beforehand of 65,000 spectators. The remainder is connected the field, we talk connected the field.”

Morocco are Africa’s starring powerfulness close present and, dissimilar Nigeria, are gearing up for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The Atlas Lions precocious won the FIFA Arab Cup 2025 successful Qatar, but their AFCON grounds down the years has been underwhelming. This is their archetypal semifinal since 2004, erstwhile they mislaid the last to Tunisia.

Going further back, Morocco bushed Nigeria en way to lifting the trophy successful 1976 – fractional a period on, that remains their lone continental title.

Can ‘improved’ Nigeria halt Morocco’s march?

Nigeria returned to Morocco with overmuch to beryllium aft a punishment shootout decision by the Democratic Republic of the Congo successful a November playoff successful Rabat ended their hopes of World Cup qualification.

There mightiness beryllium 10 African countries participating successful the World Cup, and it is singular that Nigeria, contempt their footballing pedigree and the largest colonisation connected the continent, volition not beryllium among them.

However, their performances implicit the past 3 weeks person shown that to beryllium an anomaly.

Nigeria were runners-up astatine the past AFCON successful 2024. Led by 2 erstwhile African Players of the Year successful Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, they are this tournament’s apical scorers with 14 goals.

So what has changed from the failed World Cup qualifying campaign?

“Nothing,” said manager Eric Chelle, appointed precisely a twelvemonth ago. “This is the aforesaid team. The quality is conscionable that they person improved due to the fact that they cognize what I want.”

Nigeria’s masked Galatasaray striker Osimhen had gone 7 AFCON matches without uncovering the nett earlier scoring against Tunisia successful the radical stage. He present has 4 successful his past 4 matches.

Nigeria are besides the tournament’s apical scorers wide with 14 goals successful total.

Shocks person been efficaciously non-existent astatine this AFCON, but Nigeria’s beingness means 4 of the 5 top-ranked African teams are successful the semis – the objection is Algeria, beaten by the Super Eagles connected Saturday.

Salah’s past changeable astatine AFCON glory?

Even if the hosts powerfulness past the Super Eagles, their last situation volition not get immoderate easier.

The tournament’s different semifinal, besides scheduled for Wednesday, successful Tangier betwixt Egypt and Senegal, is simply a repetition of the 2022 final, which the Lions of Teranga won connected penalties.

Senegal, ranked 2nd successful Africa and 19th successful the world, were seen arsenic the biggest menace to Morocco earlier the tourney and basal 1 crippled distant from a 3rd last quality successful 4 editions.

They person an experienced side, which includes Mane, who volition travel up against his aged Liverpool teammate, Salah.

Their beingness means the past 5 players to triumph the African Player of the Year prize are each successful the semifinals.

Salah, who, similar Osimhen, has 4 goals astatine the tournament, has ne'er won AFCON, having doubly been a losing finalist.

He came to Morocco having fallen from favour astatine his club, but seems to person recovered happiness again with his nationalist squad arsenic helium looks to occurrence Egypt to a record-extending eighth title.

“I person won astir each honour, but this is the 1 I americium waiting for,” said Salah aft the quarterfinal win implicit the Ivory Coast, earlier insisting the Pharaohs are present the outsiders.

“We are coming up against truly bully teams, astir of whose players are based successful Europe, which makes it easier for them.

“We person precise bully players, but astir play successful Egypt. We person 3 players playing abroad, but each of them are successful a hard concern – nary of them are playing for their clubs conscionable now,” helium added, with a motion to his ain problems astatine Anfield.